Freelancer Two: Revolution
by mknote
Summary: Eight years after the apparent defeat of the Nomads, a terrorist act plunges Sirius into chaos. Naturally, Edison Trent finds his way into the mess. A sequel to Freelancer.
1. Chapter 1

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended. The story begins in May, 808 AS, approximately eight years after the events of the game Freelancer._

**Chapter 1**

**Harris System, Border Worlds:**

Captain Mike Arnold decided he hated boredom. _And this is definitely boring._ _We've made six runs to Harris in the past two months, and they don't pay me well enough to keep coming back._ "Leeds Jump Gate cleared," he hollered to his crew. "Initiating tradelane sequence." His ship, the _Osla_, was hauling Alien Organisms, Terraforming Gases, Oxygen, and other assorted garbage to Harris. _I'm glad I'm not the captain of the other ship, at any rate._

Just off port, another ship called the _Alice_ was carrying Toxic Wastes to the Planetform Station, in order to mutate the organisms to Harris's environment. Arnold had been with it for the past two months, carrying the same cargo, over and over. He looked at Harris up ahead. _Looks habitable to me,_ he thought out of spite, and not for the first time. The _Alice_ dropped out of the trade lane a little bit ahead of the _Osla_. Arnold sighed as he thought of yet another Gaian attack, but realized that they were at the end of the tradelane.

"All right, set a course –"

"Sir, something is wrong," said his helm officer as he repeated a few comands. "We're not dropping out of the tradelane."

"What?" Arnold exclaimed, turning sharply to the officer. "Why not?"

"I don't know!" he replied as he frantically tried to get the controls to respond.

"Abort trade lane!" ordered Arnold.

"I can't!" said the helmsman as he slammed his fist into the helm consol. "The tradelane isn't responding!"

Arnold knew this was bad. They were moving at superluminal velocities towards Harris. If they couldn't drop out of the tradelane… He didn't want to think of the explosion it would cause; it would vaporize nearly everything around Harris, including his ship and possibly the planet itself. He knew that nothing could be done, though; the tradelane was controlled remotely. Harris now loomed in front of him. _So this is what Death looks like,_ he thought bitterly._ A giant bleak rock._

* * *

On the bridge of the _Alice_, Captain Jake Renolds knew what was happening. Even as he was launched out of his chair he didn't need to be told what _had_ happened. His comm. officer, though, told him anyway.

"Sir, the _Olsa_ didn't drop out of the tradelane; they've hit the planet!"

"No shit!" yelled Renolds as he pulled himself up. Traveling at superluminal speeds, the transport had hit Harris with more force than a million Sunslayer missiles. The explosion it had created was huge; it engulfed the all of Harris, though it didn't seem to damage it, and still it grew. It broke free of the atmosphere and overcame the Planetform Station, vaporizing it instantly, and still it kept coming. It made it nearly to the first tradelane ring before dissipating. Unfortunately, a shockwave of debris propelled by the explosion was quickly approaching. "Brace for impact!" he yelled as he tried to grab his chair.

The shockwave hit the _Alice_ dead on. She was tossed back thousands of kilometers, miraculously not hitting any asteroids. On board, Renolds was thrown across the bridge, landed head first, and faded into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Planet Manhattan, New York System:**

"Our patrols have indicated that the Rogue base was completely destroyed," said the man sitting at the bar. "I'll have the credits relayed into your account. Well done, Mr. Trent."

Edison Trent simply acknowledged his most recent employer with a simple nod before turning to the bar. "Liberty Ale, on the rocks" he said to the barwoman, who quickly served him his drink. _At last, a successful mission. Maybe my luck has finally changed._

"Well, here's a face I haven't seen in a long while," said a familiar voice from behind him. _Then again, maybe not._ Trent sighed; that voice had _never_ been good news. Trent turned around to see Jun'ko Zane, a face he hadn't seen in five years. He put a somewhat forced smile on his face.

"Juni. Haven't seen you for awhile. Been hiding under Harris for a few years? Chasing Nomads from here to –"

She cut him off. "Well, aren't we psychic today? I'm not sure if you've seen the news, but Harris is the reason I'm here." She sat down next to Trent. "Where were you? I've been waiting for you for hours."

Trent took a drink of his ale, idly wondering how she'd known that he was in Liberty. "Unlike _some_ people, I actually work for a living. I haven't seen the news in weeks. Last I heard, Harris and a dead rock meant the same thing. So, are you going to fill me in, or do I have to guess?"

"Three hours ago, Harris was hit by a transport traveling at tradelane speeds. The transport was carrying terraforming supplies, which, due to superluminal physics – don't ask me to explain it – were greatly modified in quantity and spread over the planet. It sped up the terraforming process by many years."

"So what's the problem?" asked Trent, while popping some peanuts into his mouth. "Sounds like a good deal to me."

"I'm not finished. All of the ships in orbit were destroyed, as were the surface station and the orbiting platform. The death toll is already over twelve thousand, and is expected to rise. The only survivors who saw it were on a transport called the _Alice_."

"Oh, great," Trent said sarcastically. "Now the Nomads can control Liberty and have them execute the Harris survivors. Been there, done that."

"This isn't a joke," growled Juni. "The LSF is willing to pay you five thousand credits to investigate the matter. It shouldn't be too hard, just find out what caused the tradelane to malfunction."

"Sure, piece of cake. Just make sure big blue worms aren't involved somehow. I'm in, simply because I've hit a hard spot in luck. Bartender, buy this lady a drink, on me."

Juni looked at him. "A hard spot? Is that why you're flying a Starflier? Wait, let me guess: Hessians."

Trent looked at her, with mock graveness. "No, my Eagle had a sudden and rather violent encounter with an asteroid." He didn't elaborate. "Look, I need the money, and I need it now. Could you give me the information so I can get going?"

"Sure, we'll leave in an hour. I'll get prepped." She took her drink and left.

"We? You're going? Oh, great," Trent said to a retreating Juni.

* * *

**New York System, Liberty Space:**

_"Freelancer Alpha One-One, this is Planet Manhattan; docking ring cleared. Good luck out there," _said the same robotic voice that had uttered it so many times.

_"Trent, this is Juni. Xenos have blocked all ways out of Liberty except through Kepler and Florida. We're going to go through Florida to get to Harris. I'm uploading the waypoint to the tradelane to the jump gate into your Neural Net."_

Trent looked at the coordinates curiously. "I've never heard of Florida," he said, as he punched in coordinates to the waypoint. "Let me guess, a new Liberty system."

_"Yes. It was discovered about a century ago. Ageira started on a jump gate almost immediately. They finished programming it about five years ago, and towed it out to the Jersey Debris Field. Where have you been?"_

"Rheinland, taking jobs for the military, at least until a week ago." Trent engaged the tradelane and flew towards the Jersey Debris Field. _This brings back memories._ "I haven't been in Liberty since the day after I got the Lone Star. Has it really been eight years?"

Juni chuckled. _"Time flies when you're having fun, eh?"_

"I guess. Rheinland's doing pretty well, though. Seems like everyone there likes Chancellor Kästner well enough. And they don't particularly dislike the fact that I killed Niemann, either. Still, it doesn't feel the same. I _liked_ being on the edge of my seat. Now it's just… boring." Something beeped on his consol as they exited the tradelane. "Looks like we have some friends. Juni, is that thing well-armed?"

_"You bet it is. Looks like some Xenos ships. All right Trent, let's see if you're still good,"_ Juni said over the comm.

"Right," he said, mostly to himself. There were three ships, Startrackers, coming from the Jersey Debris Field. _If only I still had my Eagle_. He powered up his three Justice Mk 2s. "I'll take on the center one first." He fired, taking down his foe's shields in just a few hits. _They're still flying light, I see_.

Then he was hit hard by the second ship. His shields were failing, and he had all three ships on his tail. "I got bogeys on me." He pulled up sharply, sending one ship right into a large piece of debris and getting the other two off his back. He pulled around and fired a few shots at his target, causing some minor hull damage before its shields came back on. Juni was on the other one tight.

_"All right, my target is down a wing,"_ said Juni. _"Sure_ _you don't want my help?"_

"Me? No, I'm enjoying this too much," he said sarcastically. Trent let fire another volley, tearing his foes shields apart and cutting through its hull. It spun for a few seconds and then exploded. Trent pulled in a few goods and then went to face the final ship. He found it was already destroyed.

_"Looks like you're growing a little rusty. They shouldn't have lasted half that long,"_ said Juni. _"Let's keep going, before their friends come looking for them."_

With that, they moved on towards the jump gate.

* * *

**Florida System, Liberty Space:**

They emerged from the jump gate to find a quiet place. A tradelane ahead led to a watery planet. Beyond that, a large, ringed gas giant planet loomed. To the other side, a planet that looked reminiscent of Harris was in front of a large, green cloud.

_"The planet up ahead is Miami. The gas giant is Tallahassee, and the last planet is Orlando. Miami is a resort for Spa and Cruise Lines, and Orlando is being terraformed by Planetform. We'll be heading towards Cape Canaveral, which is over Tallahassee."_

"All right," Trent said, not the least bit interested, "since you _obviously_ know your way around here, take point." They quickly entered the tradelane towards Miami. "So, how's the rest of the gang?" he asked.

_"King got his own squadron. Orillion and the _Osiris_ are holding the fort in that Nomad system next to New Madrid. Von Claussen hasn't been heard from since the Nomad incident. Many people think he's dead."_

"And you?"

Juni chuckled. _"No, he's far too resourceful. I think he's just hiding, probably helping the Bundschuh, and waiting for the right time to reappear."_

They came out of the tradelane and went for another one just a little ways away. Tallahassee was soon looming in front of them, though it was still a good distance away.

"I haven't been to Hispania since it was founded," Trent said. "Have you?"

_"Once. I don't know about Cataluña, but New Madrid is quite a bit better looking than it used to be. Tradelanes and jump gates are being built, the planets are getting cleaned up, and there's a lot of infrastructure being built. The Nomads seem to have left the jump hole in that system, though I've heard they're still in Cataluña's jump hole."_

"Well, at least they're holding their own," said Trent. "I still can't believe that the Corsairs and the Outcasts put aside their conflict. It just isn't in their nature. I've heard rumors that an 'unknown hero' was responsible."

_"Yeah, I heard the same thing. But what I heard was that this 'hero' is supposedly part of The Order, which doesn't make any sense. Who knows what happened."_

They dropped out of the tradelane in front of Tallahassee, close to an orbiting mining station. IMG base, Cape Canaveral Mining Facility, his computer told him.

"Are we expecting an escort?" asked Trent when he saw some fighters coming out of the station.

_"No,"_ said Juni. _"Cape Canaveral, this is Delta-One. What's going on over there?"_

_"Delta-One, we have several inbound Xenos ships. We advise you to leave the area at once."_

_"Acknowledged. Delta-One out. Well, Trent, looks like we're going to see some fireworks."_

Trent looked over at the incoming ships. "There sure are a lot of them. I count at least twenty. Why are they being so bold?" Trent didn't like this. He started up his cruise engines, and none too soon. The Xenos ships opened fire on him and Juni as soon as they were in range, completely ignoring the IMG ships. "I think we're very popular today, Juni. Let's get out of here before they ask for our autographs."

_"I couldn't agree more. I'm uploading coordinates for the Harris Jump Hole in the Okeechobee Nebula. Let's go."_ They moved toward the large, blue cloud. The Xenos ships broke off, leaving Trent and Juni riding alone.

* * *

**Harris System, Border Worlds:**

_Well, this is one place I missed,_ thought Trent. _This system just looks… good._ He could see the Florida Jump Gate off in the distance, already complete on this end.

_"All right Trent, we're going to go to the Ageira station set up to investigate. The Alice is docked there. I'm uploading a waypoint."_

Trent locked in on it and set a course. He took a look at Harris, and found that it looked no different than it always had: bleak and red. Still, he didn't doubt Juni when she said that it was more habitable. After some time had passed, Trent said, "So, why is the LSF interested in this? I mean, Planetform isn't exactly a Liberty company."

_"If they can't find out what happened, they may pull out their operations in Liberty," _she explained. _"With both Orlando and California Minor involved, that could be a big blow to our economy. So we were ordered to investigate how the tradelane malfunctioned."_

"Makes sense. Liberty's invested, what, six hundred million into Cal Minor alone?"

_"Sounds about right. Our population can't hold out indefinitely on our planets, and Liberty chose a poor spot in making their colony. We don't have anywhere to expand."_

"And yet you're by far the best House off? Slightly ironic, wouldn't you say?" Trent noticed the station attached to a tradelane ring not far off. "Okay, we're here. Station," Trent looked at his computer, "Gibb, we are requesting to dock."

_"Roger. Please proceed to dock two."_

* * *

**Investigation Site Gibb, Harris System:**

"Investigator Baylar, Ageira Technologies. I am in charge of the investigation of the Harris Incident. Good to see you again, Trent."

Trent remembered Baylar. They had worked together a few years earlier when investigating a friendly-fire incident. "Same here, Baylar. This is Jun'ko Zane, Liberty Security Force." They shook hands. "So, what have you found?"

Baylar looked hesitant. "We no longer suspect this to be an, ah, accident."

Trent and Juni both were surprised; this _was_ unexpected. It was Juni spoke who first. "You're saying this was deliberate? What evidence do you have?"

"The cause of the malfunction, which was a short circuit in the tradelane ring communication device, was caused by a computer virus, and a very well made one at that. It was transmitted through the ship identification system from a transmission wave. We suspect, for obvious reasons, that it was Gaians. The odd part is, though, we don't think they have the know-how to make the virus. We've ruled out Lane Hackers, because there is no incentive involved on their part. It's possible, too, that the Orrids are involved."

Trent looked skeptical. "Orrids? Aren't they former Outcasts who still sell Cardamine? What possible reason could they have to want to do this?"

"I don't know. However, we do know that the virus was transmitted from the Delta-45 system, where many suspect is a major Orrid base. Also, many of them are former Lane Hackers, so they _could_ engineer such a virus."

"Delta-45," Trent repeated. He turned to Juni. "Well, why don't we pay it a visit? I know the way. Maybe we'll find something there."

* * *

**Delta-45 System, Fringe Worlds:**

"Now this is a system I remember," Trent said.

_"Really?"_ said Juni. _"I've never been in the Fringe Worlds."_

"This 'asteroid' field we're in? It'smade up almost entirely of diamonds. I actually discovered a _huge_ diamond in that cloud over there. It's even called 'Trent's Core.'"

She scoffed. _"Show-off. Anyway, that cloud is where most people think the Orrid base is, according to this information. Let's check it out."_

They set course for the hydrogen cloud, which a good hour away. "So, did that lead I gave you ever pan out?" He was referring to the last time he'd spoken to Juni five years ago while she was trying to catch a major Outcast drug lord.

_"With Gomez? It was the break we needed. Thanks to you, we were able to put him away, though we lost a few men apprehending him."_

"As I said, he's a dangerous SOB. What'd he get?"

_"Several hundred life sentences,"_ she said dejectedly.

"Why Jun'ko, do I detect a slight desire for Liberty to have the death sentence?"

_"Shut up, Eddie."_

The search of the hydrogen cloud took several hours. Trent fell asleep more than once, nearly ramming Juni's ship on one occasion. Long range sensors weren't picking up any metal in the cloud, and as thoroughly as they'd scanned it, that likely meant that there was nothing here. _It's as dead as the last time I was here._ "Juni we're wasting our time," he said at last. "There isn't any –" he was cut off by a violent shake of the ship, nearly throwing him from his chair. _What the bloody hell? _This_ wasn't here last time._ A huge storm that reminded Trent of a typhoon loomed in from of him. He checked his navmap, and this was exactly where Trent's Core was supposed to be.

After several hectic minutes of navigating, Trent found his way into the eye. There was the six-hundred plus kilometer sphere of a diamond with his namesake.

_"It's beautiful."_ Trent hadn't even realized Juni had been with him.

"Isn't it? Probably worth a cool billion. Too bad it won't fit in my cargo hold. Hang on, I'll try to find a way out of here." He made several adjustments, and navigated both of them out of the storm.

_"What _was_ that?"_

"Some sort of storm, I guess," said Trent. "At any rate, there isn't anything here. We've reached a dead end."

Juni sighed. _"All right. The other two clouds have been searched more thoroughly, so I suppose the rumors are just that. Guess it wasn't much of a mission, but I'll see to it that the funds are transferred to you. Try and stay around Liberty; something tells me this isn't over."_

* * *

_A/N: Well, here it is at long last. My first fanfic. I'm not one big on reviews; they're fine, but not that importent. Leave one if you want, though, I'll probably read it. Just so everyone knows, I'm making a mod that's set just after the end of this fic by the same name. A mod set a bit before this fic by the name of FL2Systems which gives a bit of background to the story was released on The Lancers Reactor, but since it went down, it's no longer posted there. It is, however, posted on The StarPort._


	2. Chapter 2

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 2**

**Planet Manhattan, New York System:**

Trent took a long drink of Liberty Ale. Excepting a trip to Bretonia, in which he'd traded his Starflier for a Cavalier, he'd stayed in Liberty for the past week. His luck did in fact seem to have improved, as he'd successfully completed three more missions for various people. _Now, if only I could find a Liberty drink that doesn't taste like utter–_

"Trent?"

Trent jumped. "Juni, don't sneak up on me like that," he said, turning to face her. "What do you want?"

"You remember when I told you that Xenos were blocking ways into and out of Liberty a week ago? Well, we think we know why."

"Why?" he asked curiously. The Xenos were rarely able to carry out any plan they may have due to their lack of money.

"A Planetform convoy was moving supplies to Orlando. Since all other jump gates were blocked by Xenos, they moved in through Kepler. As they neared Ames, something happened."

"_Something_? _What_ happened, was it destroyed?"

Juni looked worried. "We don't know. All communications from Kepler have ceased, and we need to find out why. We need to leave. Now."

Trent's mind started racing as fast as he was to his ship. _This doesn't make sense. There's no way the Xenos have the resources to make this happen. Something else is going on. Something major._

* * *

**New York System, Liberty Space:**

"So, what are the theories?" Trent asked as he put in the coordinates for the tradelane to Fort Bush. He didn't like this. The Xenos had never targeted Planetform specifically. The only two explanations for this turn of events that made sense were coincidence (which Trent never really trusted) or some reason for the Xenos to go after Planetform. The most obvious reason for them to do so was an alliance between the Xenos and the Gaians, which would be a first for the isolationist group. "Do you think that long awaited dark matter storm hit?"

_"It's possible. The problem with _that_ theory is that no group has the technological capabilities to detect the movement of dark matter, which begs the question of how the Xenos knew it was coming."_

"Assuming, of course, that they _knew_ it was coming."

_"Do you really think that this was a coincidence?"_

"Not a chance in hell. Two major incidents a week apart involving the same company? Somebody has it out for Planetform. And I have a feeling it _isn't_ just the Gaians. I smell a conspiracy."

_"I won't go as far as to say that there's a conspiracy, but I agree that the timing's too much to be a coincidence. Do you think that the Orrids are involved?"_

"Unlikely; they aren't advanced enough to detect dark matter either, and what motive would they have? No, I think they have a much more advanced backer, perhaps an upstart rival company to Planetform." They made the rest of the trip to the jump gate to Colorado and then to Kepler in silence.

* * *

**Kepler System, Independent Worlds:**

They came out of the jump gate to find very little surviving. A dark matter nebula had consumed the jump gate, frying it, so they wouldn't be able to use it to return to Liberty the way they came. The tradelane had been obliterated as well.

_"Damn,"_ said Juni,_ "look at this. Nothing on sensors. Looks like you were right Trent; the whole system is engulfed in a dark matter nebula. Let's head for Ames; assuming they survived, I'm sure they could tell us _–_ incoming hostiles!"_

Trent's jaw dropped. The contact list went off the scale; there were _at least_ forty ships. "We've to get out of here, there's no way we can fight that many ships off." Trent engaged cruise engines, only to find himself on the wrong end of a Hornet and several dozen Tarantulas. "Shields out," he said, even as he warmed up his two Justice Mk 3s and his twin Skyrails. He picked the nearest Xenos ship, a Hawk, and laid into him. His foe's shields were barely damaged, however. _Where the hell did they get _good_ shields?_ He didn't have time to ponder the thought, though, as he was too busy trying to stay alive.

Being blasted by twelve ships, his hull reached critical in less than a second, and only his shields coming back online saved him. His shields went out even quicker, but he maneuvered out of their shots just as they fell. _These Bretonian fighters maneuver like a freighter._ He dropped a good twelve countermeasures, applied nanobots, and engaged his cruise engines. Ten Hornets streamed at him, but all missed. Against all odds, he'd managed to escape, though his ship was barely keeping itself together.

Juni didn't seem to fare much better. Her ship was leaving a large trail of flames, and had both of its wings missing. _"So, are we headed to Ames?"_ she asked, out of breath.

"Yeah," said Trent, also exhausted. "Were did all those ships come from? And were did they get those shields?"

"_I've no idea. Let's just hope they don't have friends,"_ she said dryly.

"On our recent luck?" he replied, just as dryly. "We should expect twenty or so." He noticed that one of the Skyrails had come loose during the battle and sighed, resigned to making an EV walk to fix it, something he hated to do due to the dangers. He decided to put it off and instead worked on manually repairing the hull from the inside.

After an hour, they reached Ames, or, to be more precise, what was left of it. It had been ripped apart by the storm and the Planetform convoy had fared little better. Nearly a dozen large transports were scattered and scarred, attacked even after they had been destroyed. The tradelane to the Shikoku gate, or rather what was left of it, was also ruined. "Let's head for the Shikoku gate," he said, to which Juni agreed.

Another hour passed as they cruised to the Shikoku gate. Trent decided to make the extravehicular walk to reattach the Skyrail that had come loose. He also ironed out some errors in the engine matrix from the cockpit. As he found himself running out of things to do, they finally reached the jump gate.

To Trent's surprise, the Shikoku jump gate had fared far better than its Colorado counterpart; in fact, it was fully operational. The fact that there were sixty Xenos ships about twenty seconds away made the gate look absolutely beautiful.

* * *

**Shikoku System, Kusari Space:**

To Trent's dismay, he found that they weren't alone on this end of the jump gate. Eight Xeno Hawks were present, along with two Kusari Drakes. _They must have used the gate,_ he thought._ Better make sure they don't get friends._ He sent the codes to lock the gate behind him and then powered up his weapons.

Even with the jump gate firing at the Xenos ships, they were outnumbered. Trent went in high and port, hoping to catch them off guard with the unexpected maneuver. He got three ships to break off, and he focused on the center one. He pulled the fire button, but to his dismay only his Justices fired. _Bollocks, my Skyrails are worthless._ With only his twin Justices, the Xenos' shields held strong. Without warning, though, the formerly loose Skyrail came online and began pouring fire onto the Hawk. _Well, that's slightly better._ He kept firing at his target, whose shields quickly collapsed. He was pelted with blasts from two other ships, but remained firmly on his target's tail. Finally, the ship exploded and Trent turned to engage the other two.

He fired at the left one while dodging the shots of the right one. The addition of the Skyrail allowed him to bring down his enemy's shields rather quickly. Satisfied, he targeted the Hawk's engine and fired. It took several shots, but the ship stopped dead. He then pelted it until it blew, then tractored in several goods. _Those other ships seem caught up in the fighting_. He turned to face them and realized their eight ships had been cut to three, while only one of the Police fighters had been destroyed. _Their tech may have improved but their skill hasn't._

Several minutes later, the remaining Kusari ship, along with Trent and Juni, destroyed the remaining fighters. During the firefight, however, his pair of Justices had stopped working. Trent netted a Tarantula from one of the Hawks, though, while one of his wings had been sheared off by an enemy mine. Trent, Juni, and the remaining Kusari ship set course for Battleship _Myoko_.

* * *

**Battleship **_**Myoko**_**, Shikoku System:**

"Physically, there is nothing wrong with the connections. These weapons _should_ be working."

Trent sighed. _Myoko_'s equipment dealer had just completed an hour long inspection that yielded no results. Even the Tarantula wasn't working in any of the three non-functional weapon slots. He hated flying with only one weapon. "Is there anyone who you'd recommend to look over my ship?"

"None comes to mind, sir. Of course, not many in Kusari are familiar with Bretonian ships. Perhaps it would be wise to go to Bretonia to have the ship looked over."

"All right," said Trent. "Go ahead and take the Tarantula, I won't be using it." He headed for the bar to find Juni, only to run into her at the door to the hanger.

"Trent, I've told the Navel Forces about Kepler. They're sending a patrol with us back to Liberty."

Trent nodded and turned back to his ship. "I should warn you that I'm down to one weapon."

"Well, like I said, we'll have escorts. We're going through Galileo, since the jump gate between Kepler and Colorado is fried."

Trent just nodded and got into his Cavalier.

* * *

**Shikoku System, Kusari Space:**

_"Delta-One? This is Hagi-One. My group will escort you to Colorado."_

_"This is Delta-One, I read you. We're ready."_

"So, now that we know the cause of the blackout, why did the Xenos attack Planetform?" asked Trent.

Juni skeptically said, _"_If _they knew that the storm was coming. If so, an alliance with the Gaians isn't out of the question. The real problem, however, is where they got the technology to detect dark matter. Nobody has that sort of technology."_

"Maybe it was blind luck," mused Trent, "though I doubt it. My question, though, is _why_ the Xenos would do that. They've never aligned themselves with _anyone_, and to think that they might ally with someone _outside_ of Liberty is rather difficult to believe. And they would certainly need an incentive, and there aren't any obvious ones. This whole damn thing is confusing."

_"I agree. This turn of events is disturbing, to say the least." _By this point they had reached the jump gate.

* * *

**Galileo System, Independent Worlds:**

_Well, I'll give the Xenos one thing: they're persistent._ Eight ships had greeted them with weapons blazing. With his single Skyrail, Trent wasn't able to do much. He had drawn their fire, took a lot of it, but wasn't able to destroy anything. Fortunately, he had allies, and they were more than a match for the Xenos ships. After they had been fought off, they moved to the trade lane.

As they headed through Galileo, the topic of conversation drifted to the Orrids and whether or not they had a hand in the matter at hand. Hagi-Two decided to offer some insight to the Orrids. _"I was out in New Madrid a year ago when they raided a Kusari supply convoy to Planet New Madrid. They're vicious and don't seem to be interested in anyone but themselves. I've heard that they are interested in Delta-45, and that they want to stop Hispania from colonizing the system. It's possible that they could be attacking Planetform so that they will stop terraforming the planet in Delta-45._

_"That might give them a motive_," Juni said. _"But where's their opportunity to act on it? I highly doubt that they have more advanced technology than anyone else in Sirius, and the Orrids have never been into Liberty or the Independent Worlds. I suppose that they could have used the Gaians as a courier, but there isn't any evidence that the two factions have had contact. Ageira has detected unusual graviton readings from the Independent Worlds, though, and while they aren't sure what they are, they might indicate a new jump hole. If that links near an Orrid base…"_

By then, they had reached the Colorado Jump Gate. Hagi squadron needed to report back, so Juni and Trent went alone.

* * *

**Colorado System, Liberty Space:**

"Finally, we exit a Jump Gate with no welcoming committee. Juni, what kind of graviton readings? I wasn't aware of them."

_"You can't know everything. Ageira only started detecting them recently. They are much more powerful than graviton shields, and far too concentrated for a shield."_

"Interesting. You know, I heard something about graviton _weapons_ in a physics class once, but it was just a theory. Concentrating them into a focused beam would be difficult but very powerful."

_"I doubt that's what it is. Making a graviton weapon is currently beyond human abilities. Still, I'd loathe ignoring any possibilities."_

"I'll look into it. At any rate, I'm heading for Manhattan, Juni. Take care."

_"Hold on, I'm getting a transmission from Battleship _Rio Grande_."_

_"This is _Rio Grande_ to all LSF ships in the area; Director Lane has requested your presence on the _Rio Grande_ immediately. A new situation has risen."_

_"Trent, I know it's not exactly protocol for Freelancers to sit in on LSF meetings, but maybe the Director would allow it. After all, you have been tangled up in this mess."_

"Sure, fine by me."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Rio Grande**_**, Colorado System:**

Director Michael Lane, head of the Liberty Security Force, looked around the room solemnly. "Two hours ago, we got a transmission from a freighter in Magellan. A freighter, the _Helga_, was destroyed by Mollys." He appeared to hesitate. "It was carrying a payload of people to colonize Planet Harris. The _Helga_ was carrying most of the children of the people on its sister, the _Aries_. Three thousand people are dead were aboard, most of them under the age of sixteen. The _Aries_ was left undamaged, so this attack was meant as a message. President Jacobi has asked us to investigate in light of the recent attacks surrounding Planetform."

One Agent was perplexed. "The Mollys are only interested in freeing Dublin. How does attacking a transport to Harris help their cause?" Trent shared his concerns; it was abnormal for them.

Juni, however, was pensive, and was quick to speak up. "It seems that a lot of criminal factions have been doing odd things lately. The Gaians sabotaged a tradelane, something which is beyond their ability, the Xenos have apparently helped the Gaian cause and are now heavily armed, and now the Mollys have done something that doesn't help their cause at all."

"Do you believe that they are connected?" asked Lane.

"I believe that it is certainly a possibility, Director," replied Juni.

"Very well," replied the Director. "Look into it, Agent Zane. In the meantime, I want everyone to look into other possible motives for the Molly attack. Dismissed."

* * *

**Colorado System, Liberty Space:**

_"All right," _said Juni,_ "just to sum up, our theory is an alliance consisting of the Gaians, the Xenos, and the Mollys. Two of them have capabilities we've always thought beyond them. They all are acting outside of their cause for no apparent purpose. And their plan, if there is one, is far from apparent."_

"That about sums it up."

_"The LSF will look into this more, Trent. I'll tell you as soon as we have anything. In the meantime, why do you go do… whatever you do in between missions?"_

"Right. See you later, Juni." With that, and a thought, Trent set a course towards Leeds. _Maybe Tobias can repair my weapons…_


	3. Chapter 3

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 3**

**Planet Leeds, Leeds System:**

"Tobias? Are you here?" Trent's voice called out into a blank space. _That's odd. He's normally always here. Something isn't right._ He put his hand near his gun and stepped further into the shop. "Tobias? It's Trent; I need to talk to –" He was startled when a man appeared from behind a doorframe. Trent had never seen him before, but the man seemed to be expecting him nonetheless. The man seemed to appraise Trent before speaking.

"Hello there. I am Juan Perez. You must be Edison Trent," he said. _He knows my name…_

"Yes, that's right," Trent said cautiously, his hand inching closer to his gun. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. He owns –"

"Mr. Tobias is unavailable. However, I have been expecting you, Mr. Trent."

Trent leapt into action, diving to the left and pulling out his gun. The man had pulled out his own weapon out very quickly and shot where Trent's head had just been. Trent picked himself off of the ground and started running to the left, keeping his eye on Perez. He fired his gun several times, dodging Perez's shots. The seventh shot hit Perez dead in the neck. He was dead before he hit the ground. Trent sighed and holstered his gun. _What the hell was that about?_

Trent ran into the back room, but found no sign of Tobias. What he did find was one of Tobias' aids dead in a chair. Another aide, who lay bleeding rather badly, looked over at Trent. He remembered his name was Dominic White.

"Where's Tobias?" Trent asked as he knelt next to White.

"He's at the hospital. One of his friends died." He groaned and shifted himself. Trent quickly assessed his wounds, finding them to be rather severe but not immediately life-threatening. He grabbed the phone and handed it to the man.

"Was there anyone else with that man?"

White nodded. "He left, I think, about ten minutes ago."

Trent stood. "Call the hospital and police." He turned and ran as fast as he could to the street, hoping that Perez's accomplice hadn't yet reached Tobias. All the while he was thinking about this turn of events. _Why would someone from Hispania want me dead? And why kill an innocent person to achieve it? Maybe the Orrids are behind it… No, they couldn't know about my involvement. Besides, we don't know if _they're_ involved in all of this. Still, someone from Hispania wants me dead._

He reached the main hospital on Leeds, Nuffield Hospital, about twenty minutes later. The receptionist at the front desk directed Trent to a room on the twelfth floor. Sure enough, Tobias was in there, gathering up the belongings of the now dead friend. He looked up and saw Trent as he walked into the door.

"Edison! What are you doing in this part of Sirius?" Tobias seemed happy to see Trent, though there was sadness in his voice. Trent looked around and saw nobody who seemed out of place.

"I'm waiting for a friend of mine to call me up. I decided that I'd had enough Liberty Ale to fill three lifetimes." Trent looked at the bed, but it was empty. The person had died recently, but the body had been removed. "Who was it?"

"A college friend. He was involved with a mishap with mining machinery. I'm almost done here."

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but you have two more bodies to deal with in your shop." This got Tobias' attention. He looked at him curiously, but said nothing. Trent moved on. "A man was there, waiting for me. I think he was Hispanic, but I _know_ he had an attitude problem."

"Did he smart off to you?" Tobias asked.

"He killed one of your aids and tried to kill me, but ended up putting himself in a position that made that task difficult," Trent said innocently.

Even with the light-hearted attempt at humor, Tobias seemed uneasy, as well as shocked. He threw a duffel bag over his shoulder and walked beside Trent towards the lift. "A Hispanic man name Perez came in two days ago. He was looking for you."

"Well, he found me," Trent said, "and my gun. Did he say why he was looking for me?"

"Aye, as a matter of fact he did. When I asked, he said –" Tobias was then interrupted by Trent's com device.

_"Trent? Juni here. Meet me in the bar on Harris. Now."_

_Well, that didn't leave itself open to interpretation._ Trent sighed and looked over at Tobias. "Sorry, my job calls. Literally."

"Wait, Trent. If this involves the organization that Perez was part of, I'm going."

"What organization?" Trent had a sinking feeling he knew the answer.

"When I asked him _why_ he wanted to see you, he said it was Orrid business."

Trent rubbed his temples, his fears recognized. "Orrid?" he muttered. "Why doesn't that surprise me." He sighed, becoming more and more convinced of their involvement in the whole affair. "We've been investigating something we think they did for two weeks with no luck. In fact, that is probably _why_ they wanted me dead. But I don't want –"

"– me to go? Well, too bad, Trent. They killed one of my workers and I want to find out who's responsible. Let's go."

"Wait. We should probably go out the back. Perez had an accomplice, and I bet he's prowling about somewhere." Tobias nodded as they reached the lift. "Also, I need a small favor. My weapons are a bit unpredictable…"

"Say no more, my friend," said Tobias as they rode to the ground floor. "Let's head back to the shop and I'll see if I can work my magic. What ship are you flying now?"

"A Cavalier. Bloody thing maneuvers like a freighter, and three of its weapon slots won't work at all."

"Sounds like one of the power converters has come loose. Shouldn't be difficult to fix, I have several spares in the shop, though we may have to go elsewhere with the bobbies on the scene. Who was it that was killed?"

"Wasn't someone I knew. He had blond hair."

"Eric Daniels," said Tobias with a grimace. "He hasn't worked for me long, but he was a good man." The doors opened and they headed towards the rear exit. They were quickly out on the street. "Has anyone else looked over the ship?"

"A Kusari mechanic, though he didn't find anything wrong."

"Bah! The Kusari wouldn't know their way through one of our ships if they had a manual. Don't worry, we'll have her right as rain in –" Tobias's eyes widened and he pushed Trent to side as a gunblast echoed through the street. Tobias was already in the process of pulling out a revolver and he quickly shot the offender straight between the eyes. "Well, I think we found the accomplice," he said as he lowered his gun. "What the bloody hell have you done to anger these people?"

Trent picked himself off the ground. "Damned if I know." He looked himself over and picked up his own gun, which had fallen out of its holster when he'd fallen. The dead perpetrator was obviously Hispanic, and Trent had no doubt that he'd found Perez's accomplice. They even looked related. "We should get moving," he said as he holstered his weapon.

* * *

**Leeds System, Bretonia Space:**

Trent looked over at Tobias' Hawk as he left the Leeds docking ring. _Nice ship. I wonder where he got it._

_"So, tell me about these Orrids, Trent."_

As Trent put in coordinates for the Harris Jump Gate, he explained both the situation and his travels to him. They neared the end of the tradelane while Trent was busy telling the story of Kepler to Tobias.

"So, we're fighting for our lives and I find out that the Shikoku Jump Gate is still online. We went through –" Suddenly, Trent's alarm went off indicating hostile targets. "What the hell?" A dozen Molly ships were attacking Glasgow. Though it was damaged, it was still firing at the Molly ships. Now that Trent had arrived, however, they turned and focused on him. _How lucky can a man be in one lifetime?_ _I'm sure glad that Tobias was able to fix my weapons, at least._ He brought his Justice Mk 3s and his Skyrails online and targeted the nearest Molly ship.

Not nearly as undefended as Xeno ships, it took all four weapons a good five seconds to bring down the foe's shields. He targeted the thruster, and noted his own shields failing. The thruster destroyed, he moved out a ways to recharge his shields. But the Molly ship moved to cruise and came out right on top of Trent. The Wolfhound tore into him, pulverizing his Justice Mk 3s and his shields. Swearing loudly, Trent pulled up and the Molly ship flew under him. Turning back down, he fired his Skyrails and destroyed the Molly ship in short order.

Unfortunately, three more Molly ships took the place of the fallen one. Trent angled towards Glasgow in order to find cover, but knew he wouldn't make it there in one piece. Suddenly, blasts came from port and ripped apart the Wolfhounds. Trent looked and saw the Battleship _York_ moving in from Planet Waterford. He grinned wildly and asked for permission to dock, which was granted quickly.

* * *

**Battleship **_**York**_**, Harris System:**

_"Now hear this. Battleship _York_ is entering Harris System,"_ said the voice over the ship wide communication. The _York_ had apparently been reassigned to the Harris system for defense due to the recent spike in pirate activity.

"Sir," said the _York_'s equipment dealer, "I have looked over the damage reports of your Cavalier and I believe that it is too heavily damaged to go back into space. Might I suggest purchasing a Crusader?"

"Very well. Just transfer the Skyrails over to it. And add two more Skyrails and two Advanced Skyrails." Trent didn't like the idea of buying another ship, but he had little choice.

"As you wish, sir," the _York_ equipment dealer said. With that, Trent headed for the bar. He found it crowded with members of the Armed Forces as well as several civilians who'd come aboard from damaged ships. He walked up to the counter and took a seat.

"Excellent for you to return, Mr. Trent," said the robotic bartender.

"Nice to be back. Sidewinder Fang, please." Trent hadn't had one in quite a while and needed something with some strength to it.

"Ah, Trent, there you are," said Tobias from behind. "I thought you might have become lost. Spiced Rum, with ice."

The bartender handed them their drinks. Trent took a long drink from his, savoring the taste. "Ah, now that's a drink. So, I noticed that you fared better than me. I thought Hawks were pretty bad."

Tobias smiled and sipped his rum. "That says something about the Cavalier, doesn't it? Still, neither us nor Glasgow would've survived much longer without the _York_ coming along." He paused as he was thinking of something. "Why did the Mollys attack us?" he asked at length. "We're pretty far from Dublin."

"It's possible that the Mollys are allied with the Orrids. They attacked a convoy headed for Harris with no obvious intent or gain."

Tobias looked puzzled. "Why would they ally with the Orrids of all people?"

"I don't know." Trent took another drink of his Sidewinder Fang. "If you ask me, trying to figure this out is just one big headache."

_"Now hear this. We are now entering orbit over Planet Harris. All personnel, report to the briefing room. All civilians, please prepare to disembark."_

"Well," Trent said, "I guess that's our cue to leave. I'll see you down on Harris." Trent finished his drink, paid the bartender, and headed for the docking bay. _Now we'll see what Juni was so fired up about._

* * *

**Planet Harris, Harris System:**

"Trent," Juni said, "over here." Trent walked over to one of the far tables and sat down. Tobias followed him.

"Ms. Zane. How good it is to see you again," said Tobias.

"Nice to see you, Tobias," Juni replied, then turned to Trent. "Trent, the news is saying that Glasgow was nearly destroyed. What happened?"

"Mollys," he explained. "They were attacking the station when Tobias and I showed up. Once we were there, they went exclusively after us. Bloody buggers were damned persistent, and only the _York_ showing up saved our lives. More interestingly, though, was the fact that I was ambushed on Leeds by two Hispanic men who told Tobias earlier that they were Orrids. I'm sure that they're involved with this."

Juni nodded. "The LSF agrees that the Orrids _are_ involved somehow. You weren't the only one attacked in the past day, though. I got jumped by a few Xenos on Houston after a briefing this morning, King was attacked and rather badly injured on Denver, and I've heard that at least five Agents are dead from similar attacks. Director Lane has postponed our investigation of Harris in order to investigate the attacks on the LSF. He also wants us to investigate the death of Vanessa Lane."

"Any relation to the Director?" asked Trent.

Juni nodded. "It's his daughter. She was poisoned last night at a dinner hosted by President Jacobi, and she died this morning. The coroner has identified the poison as autholine."

Trent had heard of autholine before. It was a poison found only on Planet Carinea, in the New Madrid system, and was one of the most lethal poisons known.

Tobias, too, seemed to have encountered it. "An aide of mine died of autholine poisoning about a month ago." He paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, I think he took some jobs for the LSF a few years back. Maybe the Orrids were involved with his death, too."

"If it was autholine," said Trent, "than the person who poisoned both her and possibly Tobias's aide must have gotten it out of Hispania. If we could see who has been there recently, we'd have a good shot at finding out who did the actual poisoning."

Juni said, "That's exactly what I thought, which is why I called you two here. We're going to New Madrid."

Trent turned to Tobias, who nodded. "All right," said Trent, "let's get going." As he headed for his ship, he couldn't help but feel that they were going to run into problems on the way to Hispania.


	4. Chapter 4

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 4**

**New Madrid System, Hispania Space:**

_"Trent, we need to check in with the Hispania Republic Police. Set a course for Planet New Madrid,"_ Juni stated as they entered the New Madrid system. She was slightly agitated and rather exhausted because of the longer than expected journey and the consistent battles they'd faced during it.

There had been three large battles and nearly a dozen skirmishes from Harris to New Madrid, all Gaians intent on stopping them. For hours on end, they had fought off never-ending waves of ships, and Trent's "new" Crusader was heavily damaged. Juni's modified Defender was also quite damaged, although Tobias had managed to come off with little more than a few scrapes.

"So, what is the government of Hispania like?" asked Trent as he set course for the planet once known as Malta.

_"It's a democracy, led by Premier Enrique Sánchez. Now that Cardamine is illegal here, their government is very poor. Liberty has been supplying almost all of the food for three years."_

"And if they can colonize Delta-45, with its _giant_ supply of diamonds…"

_"Hispania would be able to support itself, which is partially why Liberty is paying for the terraforming of T-5. At any rate, Liberty can't keep up with their supply for food for more than two more years. Synth Foods has offered to build a food producing station, but Hispania says things will be taken care of soon."_

_Probably Málaga_, thought Trent. By this point they reached the New Madrid Docking Ring and were given clearance to land.

* * *

**Planet New Madrid, New Madrid System:**

"Welcome to our home, sirs and lady. I am Chief Sergeant Francesco Gomez, the current head of the Hispania Republic Police." The man was tall, slightly heavyweight, and carried himself with so much self-determination that you would think nobody else could have any.

"I'm Jun'ko Zane, this is Edison Trent, and this is Richard Tobias," Juni said, gesturing to her counterparts.

"I'm told you wish to have access to Planet Carinea," Gomez said. "As you know, access to Carinea is restricted due to its dangerous nature. What is the nature of your request?"

"Two days ago, the daughter of the Chairman of the LSF was poisoned with autholine," said Juni. "She died shortly afterwards, one of several casualties in a string of attacks on LSF agents. Since autholine is only found on Carinea, it is logical to assume the assassin got the poison from there."

Gomez nodded. "And you're hoping to find out who had access and the opportunity to acquire the autholine."

"That's correct."

"Very well, I believe that I can clear you in that case. You will meet up with a patrol in orbit and they'll escort you to Carinea. I sincerely hope you close this case successfully." With that, Chief Sergeant Gomez turned and left.

Trent turned to Tobias. "You know, when the Outcasts owned this place, they had a _great_ drink called Outcast Pride. It might be called something different now, but I think –"

"No drinking on the job," said Juni as she headed back to her ship. Trent groaned but turned to his own ship and got in.

* * *

**New Madrid System, Hispania Space:**

_"Delta-One, this is León-One. We will be escorting you to Carinea."_

_"Acknowledged,"_ said Juni. _"Trent, keep your eyes open this time."_

"Sure, no problem." León squadron were piloting a fighter his computer called a Barón. Rather long and thin, it reminded Trent of a Dagger, though its hull had a slight purple hue. A large station in orbit of Planet New Madrid, one that looked like Newark Station in New York, had been noticed by Trent earlier. His curiosity got the better of him. "What station is that?"

_"That's Aranjuez Station, the Interspace Commerce station in New Madrid,"_ replied Juni._ "They seem to want one in every capital system."_

Trent looked around the area. It hadn't changed very much from the last time he was here, when it was an Outcast system. Several tradelanes were under construction, but that remained the sole indicator of change.

"So, are the Orrids a big problem in Hispania?"

_"They keep us on our toes,"_ replied León-Two. _"They don't make open attacks like many other criminals. In fact, if they can avoid a fight, they do. They're very good at staying under the radar."_

_"When we do catch them,"_ said León-One, _"we have a hell of a fight. They're _very_ well trained for drug smugglers. We've captured precious few of them alive, and they remain quiet under interrogation."_

_"Do they cause a lot of problems?"_ asked Juni.

_"Surprisingly, no. They lurk in the shadows. They're more likely to stir up trouble and watch their enemies tear themselves apart rather than fight directly."_

They entered the Siniestre Nube. The computer warned him of radiation damage, as if Trent had somehow forgotten. He remembered once when a particularly bold (or stupid) band of Corsairs chased him from Omicron Theta to Omicron Alpha, and he fought off two Titans in a barely functioning Eagle, whilst taking radiation damage. He had made a _huge_ profit off of that run.

His trip down memory lane was cut short by an incoming hostile alert. Enemy fire hit his shield and took it out in one hit. Trent jumped. Those weapons sounded a lot like… He looked at his computer and his face paled. _Nomads._ "Juni, I thought you said they were gone from around here." No response. He checked his comm. unit, but was interrupted as his ship jolted violently; his ship had hit an asteroid, which was unusual considering the lack of asteroids in this nebula. He turned the ship abruptly and saw one of the graceful Nomad ships. It fired two shots into Trent and his hull went completely out. He punched the eject button frantically and the cockpit broke off as the Crusader exploded.

The Nomad Interceptor (only one of them) turned and bore down on him. Before it could fire, however, a modified Liberty Defender appeared behind it and blasted it apart. Trent breathed a sigh of relief.

_"Trent, are you all right?"_ _Juni._

"I lost my ship, my weapons, my shields, and my best pair of pants, and you ask me if I'm all right?"

_"Drop the sarcasm if it's possible. There are more important questions, such as 'How did asteroids get here?' A jump hole just appeared, and these asteroids spilled out, along with a couple of Nomad Interceptors,"_ Juni explained.

Then Tobias offered, _"I'm more concerned about that total com blackout. Nothing I know of, natural or otherwise, can do that so completely. I don't like this."_

"Will one of you shut up and pull me into your cargo bay?" Trent asked. Juni pulled Trent into her Defender at that. Trent forced himself into Juni's cockpit, which was no small feat considering its size. "What happened to those other interceptors?"

"Those Hispania fighters and Tobias took care of them," replied Juni. "What the hell caused that?"

_"I'm not certain,"_ said León-One, _"but we've been having strange reports of unstable jump holes for the past few months. They open up at random, sometimes throwing something out before closing up again. Marrik Science has set up an entire investigation unit to study it."_

Juni shook her head. "That's odd. Liberty scientists noticed a similar phenomenon for a few weeks after the Dallas Incident, with jump holes linking Texas with systems as far away as Manchester for a few hours. It eventually stabilized with a jump hole to California at the epicenter of the explosion."

_"There haven't been any jump gate explosions that I know of,"_ said Tobias. _"It still may be a related phenomenon. I wonder if anything else like this is occurring in Sirius."_

"Juni, what about those graviton readings in the Independent Worlds?"

Juni looked at Trent for a moment before saying, "You know, that could very well be connected. Jump holes like that _do_ give off odd graviton readings." By this point they'd reached Carinea. All of the ships proceeded to land.

* * *

**Planet Carinea, New Madrid System:**

"Please be very careful here," said Cryer spokesperson Ronald Cane. "Don't touch _anything_ that's alive. You _will_ die if you do."

"I'll keep that in mind," Trent remarked. Why anyone would want to stay here for any length of time was beyond him. It was hot, humid, and dangerous.

"What's your purpose here?" asked Crane.

"We're investigating a murder," explained Juni. "A young girl was killed in Liberty yesterday; she was poisoned by autholine."

Crane's eyes widened as Juni talked. He seemed to know the importance of the fact that autholine was involved.

"Have you had any visitors lately?" Juni inquired.

"Several," Crane replied slowly. "However, I trust most of them. Though there is one woman who I _know_ has dealt with the Orrids recently. Erika Domingo."

Juni's brow furrowed. "Why do you suspect that the Orrids are involved?"

"Uh, well, they're involved with almost anything illegal on this side of Hispania. I'm just assuming that they were used as a courier, in which case Erika's the only person I know who's dealt with them and been here recently."

"Where can I find Erika Domingo?" she asked.

"You'll find her at the HRP Córdoba, in the Andalucía System. She was arrested a week ago, just as she was leaving Carinea. I think she was carrying Cardamine."

Juni raised an eyebrow. "Andalucía? I've never heard of it."

"It's the third and newest system in Hispania," explained Juan Carlos Cortez, the head of León squadron. "A jump gate is being built from New Madrid and from Cataluña, but only New Madrid has a jump hole. It's southeast of New Madrid. I can escort you there."

Juni nodded and turned to Crane. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Crane."

The group walked back towards their ships, all the while Trent had an odd feeling that something wasn't adding up.

* * *

**New Madrid System, Hispania Space:**

"Well, that seemed thoroughly pointless. We get sent away to another system on a hunch. How would you like to bet that this turns up nothing?" Trent said grumpily.

"I wouldn't," Juni retorted. "It's the best lead we've had so far. Up until now, we didn't even have a suspect. At any rate, she'll be able to tell us the extent of the Orrids involvement, if there is any."

"There is," said Trent. "Trust me."

_"I agree,"_ said Cortez, _"this type of operation has Orrid written all over it. And Crane was right; anything dealing with the black market in New Madrid goes through the Orrids at some point or another."_ A comfortable silence took over the rest of the trip to Andalucía.

* * *

**Andalucía System, Hispania Space:**

After exiting a large, green nebula, Trent was able to get his first good look at Andalucía. A beautiful green planet spun in the distance. _Planet Málaga._ Unlike Juni, Trent had heard of Andalucía, and knew that it contained one of the most fertile planets in Sirius. León squadron had returned to their patrol, so Juni, Trent, and Tobias were flying alone.

"All right, set course for these coordinates," Trent said as he put some information into Juni's computer. "HRP Córdoba should be there."

"What planet is that?" Juni asked, looking over at Málaga.

"I believe that that is Planet Málaga, the only inhabitable planet in this system. It'll provide most of the food for Hispania. It's what Hispania meant when it said that the food problem would be taken care of. People are still getting settled in, though; it was re-colonized only last month, so it hasn't produced much."

"_Re_-colonized?" inquired Juni.

"A jump hole to Cataluña destabilized two years ago, rendering Málaga temporarily uninhabitable."

They sat in silence for quite some time, until Juni's attention drifted to a large ship on patrol nearby. "What is that?" She looked at the computer, which read "Hispania Gunboat." "How are they building up a military so quickly? It took three decades before the Liberty Navy got off the ground."

"Probably Tarragona Shipyard in Cataluña." Trent leaned back and let the fireworks begin.

Juni looked predictably stunned. "How did you –" she stammered, and then she composed herself. "How did you know that? That is _classified_ information, stuff that even the LSF isn't supposed to have. The official word is –"

"That it was destroyed by the Nomads," Trent finished, grinning. "I hear things, okay?" The fact that Hispania already had navel power was something they guarded _very_ closely. That morsel of information had been provided by the Los Angeles bartender during a rather nasty bout of drinking with Trent. _I want to know how he found out. On second thought, no, I don't._

Juni turned back to the controls, shaking her head. "A Freelancer has a better information system than _we_ do. We're approaching HRP Córdoba now."

* * *

**HRP Córdoba, Andalucía System:**

"Jun'ko Zane, Liberty Security Force. We're here to see one Erika Domingo."

The prison warden, a burly man of few words, nodded and took them to a cell. "Be brief," he said in a low voice.

A woman sat in the cell on what could have been passed off as a bed a few thousand years ago. "You don't appear Hispanic. Who are you, and what do you want?"

"What we want is for you to stop asking questions and start answering them. Where were you two days ago?" questioned Juni.

"In this poor excuse of a cell, the same as I have been for the past week."

Juni shook her head. It was obvious she couldn't have given the autholine away in that time. "Have you ever handled autholine?"

"No, they have a pretty tight hold on that stuff. Only a dozen people are allowed into the storage facility in which it's kept."

"Do you suspect any of these people?"

Domingo snorted. "Yeah, Ronald Cane; and he's the bastard that you should be looking at. I got him into contact with the Orrids, and as I'm launching into space, I'm stopped by three Police ships. Anonymous tip. Bastard."

Juni cocked an eyebrow. She mouthed _Ronald Crane_. "Tell me more. How well do you know him?"

"Not well. He said he needed a quick buck, and that he could provide something for the Orrids if he could get a hold of them. He promised me a fifth of the profits, so I thought, what the hell."

"Excuse us," said Juni as she stood.

Trent and Juni looked at each other as they left the cell. Trent said, "That's interesting. Ten to one Crane sold the autholine to the Orrids, then sold out his contact so he didn't have to pay her."

"I agree. We should have questioned him further. Go get Tobias, he's probably in the bar. Let's pay Mr. Crane another visit," said Juni.

* * *

**Planet Carinea, New Madrid System:**

"Excuse me, where is Ronald Crane?" Juni asked a Cryer receptionist once they made it to Carinea several hours later.

"He left two hours ago," she said, "said people were chasing him around the sector. He appeared frightened." Juni grimaced and turned away, but the receptionist wasn't finished. "About half an hour later, some rather nasty looking Hispanics came looking for him. They just left not too long ago after looking around. I get the impression Ron's in danger."

Trent and Juni left, and went to the bar. Trent talked first.

"Well, it looks like he deliberately sent us off track to give him time to escape. Still, now the Orrids seem to be after him, probably to stop him from talking." They walked to Juni's Defender in silence, but once they reached it, Juni turned to Trent.

"You know, I've been wondering if it was the Orrids who poisoned Vanessa," said Juni. "After all, nobody allied with the Orrids can get anywhere near her. Perhaps it was an independent group, or an assassination attempt by a group we haven't found Orrid ties to. And why wouldn't they target some of the more important people at the dinner. Admiral Richard Jones of the Navy was there, as was Steven Grimes of the LPI, Director Lane of the LSF, and even President Jacobi."

"Steven Grimes," Trent said, thinking. "I read a something about him once. Wasn't his family killed by a Corsair attack in Cambridge?" Juni nodded. "Well, since the Orrids are about as anti-Corsair as you can get, maybe he sympathizes with them."

Juni stared at him. "You think the leader of the Liberty Police is responsible for the murder of an innocent girl?"

"I'm just saying what I know, okay? It's worth checking out, anyway."

Juni sighed. "Well, it's better than nothing, I suppose. All right, we'll start with Grimes."

"I know the person we should talk to," said Tobias suddenly. "But we'll need to return to Harris."


	5. Chapter 5

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 5**

**Battleship **_**York**_**, Harris System:**

"Captain Windsor, thank you for meeting us," Juni said. "I'm Jun'ko Zane, Liberty Security Force."

Earl Windsor, captain of the _York_ for fifteen years, was a knowledgeable man and a personal friend of Steven Grimes. "Ms. Zane, I was told that you wished to speak to me about a private matter?"

Juni nodded. "Yes, about Steven Grimes, head of the Liberty Police."

Windsor's eyes darkened somewhat. "I see. As you probably know, Steve and I have been friends for over twenty years. What, precisely, is this about?" he asked as he gestured for Juni, Trent, and Tobias to sit down.

"Has he been acting unusual lately?" asked Juni as she sat.

Windsor sighed. "The attack that claimed his wife and children four years ago changed him dramatically, as I'm sure it would any man. He became distant and bitter, starting a crusade against anyone of Hispanic descent. Nevertheless, the change in him wasn't complete. He still stayed in contact with me and his other friends, and still remained amiable." Windsor took a sip of some tea. "In the past few months, though, he's changed even more. He's very formal to me, even addressing me by rank, and that is quite unusual for him. He has become even more distant and somewhat aloof to those around him. Many people may not notice this, but I've known him for too long. Something has happened in the past few months, and it's caused him to act abnormally."

"We believe that he may be involved with a criminal faction known as the Orrids."

Windsor sighed again. "A year ago I would have vehemently denied that. After the way he's acted lately, though, I can't say that that would surprise me. His anger towards the Corsairs never diminished, but lately, he seems to have focused it, almost as if he were in the process of…" Windsor thought for a moment to pick the right phrase. "Getting revenge," he said at last. "I really believe that he's too smart to associate with criminals, but the anger and grief of losing his family… I hope you're wrong about this. Steve is a good man."

"At the moment, he's simply our only lead," assured Juni. "I personally think it's ludicrous to think he may have done this, but we have to look into it."

"Of course. You're an officer of the law, I understand that. I hope you close this case, but I also hope that you're wrong about Steve."

_"Captain, Fleet Commander Holler requests your counsel,"_ said a voice over the intercom.

"Thank you, Captain," said Juni, as she stood, and the three left his ready room.

"Well, Grimes sure has a good reason to like the Orrids," observed Trent. "And since the LSF is trying to bring them down, it's a good bet he'd try to get them off the Orrid's case."

"You have a point, but we haven't pinned anything on him," Juni pointed out. "I don't want to accuse the head of the police if he's innocent. And _I_ think he's innocent."

"Oh, well if _you_ think he's –"

"Perhaps we should take this to Director Lane himself," offered Tobias. "After all, it _is_ his daughter who was killed, and he works with Grimes on a constant basis. He deserves to know."

Juni sighed. "Tobias is right. Only the Director can authorize an investigation against the head of the Police." She looked at her companions. "He'll probably be at headquarters on LA. Let's go."

* * *

**Planet Los Angeles, California System:**

"Director Lane, we believe Steven Grimes is responsible for your daughter's death."

"Mr. Trent, that is absurd," said Lane. The man's voice was hoarse from crying and his eyes were red, but he still managed to project a presence that _he_ was the man in charge. "Steve is a good man, albeit, a little obsessive. But he isn't the type of man to plot the murder of the daughter of a distant friend." He looked at Juni. "Do you believe this?"

"No sir, I do not."

"Director, his family was killed by Corsairs, and the Orrids are vehemently anti-Hispania. That _could_ give him reason to support the Orrids, in which case he would want the LSF to back off of their investigation. He was at the dinner with you and thus had the opportunity to poison her. Motive and opportunity are sufficient to sustain an investigation." Trent was rather proud of his arguing abilities, which he'd rehearsed all the way to Los Angeles.

"I hear a lot of 'maybes' and 'ifs' in there, Mr. Trent. My daughter was there along with one hundred and fifty other people, including President Jacobi herself. Why not poison her instead?" Lane was obviously skeptical, but he couldn't argue with Trent's logic. "I'll give you forty-eight hours to find some evidence, but after that it's over." With that, Lane dismissed the two. Tobias was waiting in on a bench outside of headquarters and stood when Trent and Juni walked out.

"We've got forty-eight hours to prove Trent's conspiracy."

"All right, I'll take Ed and we'll see what mischief we can cause," Tobias said.

"Right," Juni said deadpan. "I'll work on the inner workings of the Liberty government. Call me if you need backup."

"Juni, please tell me –"

"Trent, just because I don't believe it doesn't mean I'm not going to pursue it diligently," said Juni defensively. "I _will_ look into it. Try not to be so cynical." With that, she walked off towards her ship. Trent and Tobias instead headed for the bar.

"Do you believe Grimes is guilty?" asked Tobias.

"Not really," said Trent, "but it's the only lead we have. Better to exhaust it than to do nothing. Why exactly are we heading to the bar? They don't serve anything good here."

Tobias laughed. "Too true. Shall we head out then?"

Trent shrugged. "Why not?"

* * *

**California System, Liberty Space:**

"Tobias, this Hawk is _very_ small. Are you sure we can both travel in this without going insane?"

"No, my friend. But at the moment, we don't have much choice. So, where do we start?"

"We need to find out how Grimes got the poison, because I doubt he'd risk being seen with it directly from an Orrid sympathizer. No, he probably had a middleman, or he went to a facility allied with the Orrids." Trent swiveled his chair to the com, tuned it to Juni's frequency, and activated it. "Juni, I need to know where Grimes has been in the last two months."

_"All right, I'll send the records now."_ Within a few minutes, a large amount of data was transferred to the Hawk's computer. Trent started looking over the files.

"Well, I'll give Grimes one thing: he sure doesn't mind traveling as much as possible. Tobias, this is a huge amount of data. I need a place to sort it out, but this pile of junk's computer doesn't have the memory."

"Ah, I know just the place. The Lane Hackers have very advanced computers."

* * *

**Mactan Base, Magellan System:**

"Hmm, interesting data here," said Tobias. "It seems Mr. Grimes' love of pleasure is legendary. He's been to _every_ Orbital Spa base, about every planet that's considered beautiful, not to mention trips to Kusari for 'treatment.' Let's see; Cortez, Bering, Hamburg, New Berlin, Stuttgart, Florida, Harris, Edinbourgh, Sigma-13, Sigma-19, Kepler, Shikoku, New Tok –"

"Wait," said Trent, "scroll back. There. Kepler. When did he go there?"

"I don't know. It's heavily encrypted, which is odd. All of the other locations aren't," Tobias said, frowning. He pondered this for a moment, and then turned to a Lane Hacker aide. "Do you think you can decrypt it?"

"Yes, but it may take a few minutes. The encryption is of a newer type, one I'm not too familiar with."

"All right. We'll be in the bar." They started off towards the bar.

"Why would he encrypt it, unless he has something to hide?" asked Trent rhetorically. "The only two possibilities I can think of are classified missions or an illegal trip. I think that we're on to something. Let's contact Juni. Get me a gin and tonic, Tobias."

Trent walked over to the comm. system and smacked the controls, which finally came online after the third try. He put in Juni's frequency. _"Juni here."_

"Juni, we've hit something odd. Evidently, he went to Kepler, but the date is encrypted. Any luck on your end?"

_"As a matter of fact, yes. We've determined that Grimes _did_ have the _opportunity_ to apply the poison into Vanessa's food without being caught. But we haven't been able to prove anything yet. We also know that the autholine was put into her food about fifteen minutes before she ate it, which coincides exactly with Grimes' time frame. I still don't believe it's him, but he's not making it easy."_

"Right. So the head of the Liberty Police is a murderer. Slightly ironic, don't you think?"

_"Just a bit, if it's true,"_ said Juni. _"Look have a meeting with the overseer here in a few minutes. Let's talk later, shall we?"_ She signed off. Trent walked over to the bar and took his drink.

"Grimes had an opportunity to poison her," he said to Tobias.

The larger man chuckled. "He's putting up quite a guilty face, if you ask me."

"Tobias," said the Lane Hacker as he walked up to the bar, "the decrypting is finished." With that, Trent and Tobias headed back for the terminal. _Wonder what this will entail._ Tobias sat down and began reading. It didn't take long to find something interesting.

"It appears that Grimes went to Kepler three weeks ago, two hours _after_ the Kepler Dark Matter Storm," said Tobias, reading from the screen. "Why would he go to a system, with only a Xeno base, stay there for five hours, and not report the dark matter storm to anyone?" He shook his head. "I fear you may be right about this man after all."

Trent was pleased, but the work was far from over. "Again, we only have circumstantial evidence. What we need is proof that he receive the autholine. The transaction probably took place on Nome, but I doubt they'll tell us if we ask nicely." A thought occurred to him and he grinned widely. "Oh, I have an idea. Let's talk to Juni again."

Though it took over an hour, eventually Juni's face was on the screen. "Juni, I have a favor to ask…"

* * *

**Nome Base, Kepler System:**

Director Michelle Bane was the leader of the Xenos in Kepler, and she didn't like to be dragged out of bed for any reason. Understandably, then, she was quite pissed when she was awoken at two in the morning. She walked into the command center, which was stone silent, prepared to rip someone's arm off. The tension could be cut with a knife. A subordinate looked up at her.

"Ma'am, I have an Edison Trent to speak with you. He claims to be part of the LSF."

They had called her out of bed for _this_? _Forget the arm, I'm going right for the head. _"Blast him out of the sky!" she bellowed.

"Ma'am, we're surrounded. By six Liberty Battleships."

Her jaw dropped.

* * *

"Here's the deal," said the man named Trent an hour later. "Tell us what we need to know, or this base is history. Has a man named Steven Grimes ever been to this station?"

Director Bane just looked at the table, and said nothing. Inwardly, though, she seethed. _He's bluffing. I hope._

Trent stood up and said into a comm. unit, "All right, we're done here. Blast the base as soo –"

"Wait." The man looked at her expectantly. "He came three weeks ago. He needed to get something from this Cryer man." Bane spoke reluctantly. The man's eyes widened slightly at the mention of Crane.

"The Orrids put you up to this? Attacking Planetform, impeding us?"

"Yes," she said, dropping her head. "In exchange for our support, they'll hand over advanced weaponry and intelligence."

This wasn't news to Trent. "All right, what did Grimes pick up?"

Bane looked up and met Trent's eyes. "I don't know. Maybe you should talk to the man who gave him the package."

Trent smiled and sat down. "What was his name?" he asked.

"I don't know." She hoped he bought the lie.

"Try again. Ronald Crane."

_Damnit, the bastard knew._ Bane turned away to hide her surprise. "Well, that _might_ have been it, but I –"

Trent slammed his fist on the table as he stood up. Bane jumped. "This isn't a game, Director," he said, annoyed. "Innocent people are dying because of this, and if you can't answer the questions truthfully, I will not _hesitate_ to kill you!"

"All right, all right, it was Crane," she said hastily. "He was giving Grimes some sort of poison. But what he was using it for, I don't know. I swear."

"Where is Crane now? Is he here?"

"I don't know. I swear. José doesn't tell us –"

"José? Who's he?"

_Now you've done it, you idiot._ She sighed. "José Márquez. He's the leader of the Orrids. I've never spoken to him personally, just by messenger. He wanted us to keep the transaction quiet, not even letting other Orrids know about it." Bane looked up. "When he finds out I told you, I'm dead."

"Well then, our business here is done," Trent said, rather joyfully. "Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I do know about security cameras. I want all of the tapes from that time before I leave."

Bane cursed the man for knowing too much.

* * *

**Battleship **_**Rio Grande**_**, Colorado System:**

"Well, at least you're back," said Juni. She and Trent were heading to the meeting room where the Director was. "I've been investigating on Planet Carinea, and the new overseer just wouldn't be quiet. Still, I managed to pull a few strings during a much needed break."

"Thanks Juni. Somehow, I don't think Lane would have given me authorization to take those battleships."

"Glad I could help out. Did you find anything useful?"

"Sure, the name of the Orrid leader, the fact that Crane and a man who might have been Grimes have had contact recently, in which they made a transaction," said Trent as he opened the door to the meeting room. It seemed as though a meeting was just about to begin, and several stony faced people were filing into the room. "Looking from the video, we know that the transaction was a single vile of autholine. Since possession of it is a felony, we have enough evidence to bring this to Director Lane and have him deal with Grimes."

"Maybe not," said the not unfamiliar voice of Michael King from behind them. "Steven Grimes has ousted Barbara Jacobi as president and is now the leader of Liberty."


	6. Chapter 6

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 6**

**Battleship **_**Rio Grande**_**, Colorado System:**

"We're gone for forty-eight hours and you've managed to see the end of Liberty as we know it. That's a new record," Juni remarked.

"Now who's being cynical?" Trent joked.

Director Lane entered the room. The room quieted down, and Lane started filling them in on the situation.

"Two hours ago, LPI officials marched into President Jacobi's office and read her charges of conspiring with the Orrids and treason, among other things. They have removed her to an unknown location until she stands trial. They have since instated a 'Presidential State of Crisis,' which is more or less a light form of martial law, until a new election can be held," Director Lane reported. He looked glum, either over the death of his daughter, the present situation, or both. "Steven Grimes, as the head of LPI, is Acting President of Liberty until such an election can be held, most likely within the next three months."

"What are the reactions of the other houses?" asked one LSF agent.

"Bretonia is officially neutral. Rheinland, Kusari, and Hispania have yet to give a response," Lane paused and sighed. "Kusari and Rheinland have also mutually declared war on each other over unrelated issues. Bretonia and Hispania have both taken neutrality to the war, and Acting President Grimes has called upon the Senate to censure Rheinland and Kusari in relation to the war. Hispania has closed up all of its borders for security reasons."

"So," Juni started, "what are we going to do about it? We can't just sit here and allow the colony we serve fall to its own Police force."

"What can we do? Steven has acted within the confines of the law; any action we take would be treason. Considering this, why _would_ we take any action?"

"You actually _believe_ Grimes' story?" asked Juni incredulously. "Have you even _seen_ the evidence?"

"Yes, I have, and I have to admit that while I find the concept of Barbara Jacobi being a traitor to Liberty a bit hard to believe, the evidence against her is damning. Were I in Steven's shoes, I would do _exactly_ what he has done."

"Hasn't it crossed your mind that the evidence could be forged?" asked Trent. Even without his suspicions and recent revelations, he shared Juni's belief that this was a ploy.

"Of course it has," snapped Lane, who seemed to have reached a breaking point. "If it is forged, it is done _very_ well. I worked on the anti-forgery team for six years and I wasn't able to see any signs of tampering. The case against Jacobi is iron-tight." He looked at the room at large. "We will follow Steven Grimes as if he were the elected president. To do otherwise would be to commit treason. You're all dismissed."

* * *

**New York System, Liberty Space:**

"Trent, we can't stay here and let this go on." At this point Juni was pleading.

"I've already said it; I'm a Bretonian, and right now Bretonia is neutral, and so am I. Besides, _you_ were the one proclaiming Grimes' innocence."

_"Well put, Trent,"_ said King over the comm.

"You're with Trent on this?" Juni asked incredulously.

_"No, I'm not a Bretonian; I'm with Director Lane. I don't want to fight against Liberty. I've already done it once, and I didn't like it. Besides, I think you're overstating the problem. Grimes has done everything by the book."_

"Oh, so the person now leading Liberty poisoned and murdered a young girl, the daughter of the head of the LSF, by the way, and it isn't a big deal? Should I look for signs of Nomads inside Grimes? Because that's the only way I see that it could _be_ a bigger problem."

_"You're reaching, Juni. We don't _know_ if he killed Vanessa. Haven't you considered that what he's saying might be the truth? What if Jacobi _did_ conspire with the Orrids to kill Vanessa or her father?"_

"That, King, is more absurd than Trent's theory that Grimes did it. And in this case, I'm going to go with the less absurd theory. The best thing to do would be to find out where Jacobi is being held at. What does intel say?"

_"Not a thing. She just disappeared. And that's tough to do for a chief-of-state."_

"Are you sure?" Juni asked skeptically. "I find that rather hard to believe."

_"All of my sources can't find her in a prison anywhere in Liberty. And I trust these sources."_

Juni sighed. "Well, thanks anyway. Hang tight, King, and tell me if you hear anything."

_"Will do."_

Juni turned around to face Trent. "I don't get it. She isn't in any prison, and yet she never left the system, either. Our probes near all of the jump gates and jump holes show no movement. They've had this system locked down ever since the arrest. So, logically, she's in this system. But there's no facility in New York can hold someone like that without us knowing about –"

"Mitchell."

"What?" Juni asked, confused.

"Prison Station Mitchell," Trent repeated. "It makes perfect sense. Your probes aren't around the jump gate, it can only be accessed through New York, and –"

"Wait, let me get this straight. You think she's being held in the Alaska System? That's happened before; it'd be the first place we look."

"Did you think to look there? And do you have a better explanation?"

Juni considered the point for a moment, then sighed. "No, to both questions. Still, we shouldn't assume anything. Getting to Alaska is dangerous, and I don't want to risk it. Not now, at any rate."

"All right, first things first… let's get some information. Let's see what we can find on our old resources."

"What does that mean?"

"Take us to Kyoto Base," Trent said.

* * *

**Kyoto Base, Chugoku System:**

"Ah, Mr. Trent, Ms. Zane. It is very good to see you again," said Lord Hakerra. "What brings you this far from Liberty?"

"The same thing that brought us here last time: a complete shift of power in Liberty. Just this time, they aren't trying to kill us. Yet."

"Ah, yes. We had heard about President Jacobi being arrested. And you are here because it goes against what Liberty stands for. Perhaps we can help."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"I'm going for a drink," said Juni, who took off towards the bar.

Trent and Hakerra talked as they headed for the ship dealer; Trent was telling the tale as to how he lost his last ship. "So, I was expecting Orrids, but instead I met up with our favorite blue worms. One of the Nomads blasted me apart before Juni caught it by surprise." By this point they had entered the ship dealer room. "Anyway, Juni thinks that Grimes fabricated the evidence to get Jacobi out of power, and I can't really disagree. It seems to support what I've learned of the man."

"I would tend to agree. I've heard of Steven Grimes before in relation to opposing Hispania. I don't know him well enough to say if taking over Liberty to bring his goals to bear is accurate, but I can certainly see his intent. Of course, it is possible the Orrids are using him, as they are using the various criminal factions."

Trent quickly bought a new Hawk and started for the equipment dealer. "I think that that makes more sense than Grimes getting this idea on his own. Do you think that the Orrids have gotten into all the house governments?"

"Kusari and Liberty, definitely," replied Hakerra. "Rheinland and Hispania, most likely. Bretonia, I would suspect no. If they were under Orrid control, I would expect them to be more active in the war that seems to be drawing the rest of Sirius in." He turned to Trent. "It is possible for me to attempt to form a criminal coalition to stop the Orrids. I would personally look into acquiring the help of the HIM."

"They're Hispania's other major criminal faction, correct?"

"I would hesitate to call them criminals. They're more like the Hogosha in the fact that they are free to move about Hispania as they please. Besides the HIM, I'd also try to gain support from the IMG and the GMG, as well as Bretonia. I doubt that such a coalition could stand against all of the other Houses, but it would certainly give us a better chance of success."

Trent purchased two Wakizashis and two Tantos. He also bought an Adv. Sentinel shield and an Adv. Thruster. They then headed towards the bar.

"Maybe there is a way to persuade Chairman Lane to go against the new government if we can show that Grimes in fact betrayed Liberty," mused Hakerra. "But in order to do so, we must locate the person who sold Grimes the autholine. You said he was a Cryer man by the name of Ronald Crane?" Trent nodded. "And he is on the run from both the LSF and the Orrids. I think I know where he might be."

"Where?" Trent asked.

"Where do you go when you want to disappear? A Freeport, and the closest one not right next to Hispania is –"

"Freeport 6."

* * *

**Freeport 6, Tau-29 System:**

Ronald Crane was indeed on Freeport 6, and he appeared agitated. He recognized Trent as soon as he saw him, and he started running. Trent ran after him while pulling out his gun and called into his com unit.

"Juni, Crane's heading for docking bay five. Try to intercept him."

Crane made an unexpected turn, throwing Trent off for a moment. He rushed around the corner, and Crane fired several shots at him before running again. _He _really_ doesn't want us to catch him._ He heard gunshots ahead, and he was nearly hit as he turned the corner. Juni was blocking the entrance to docking bay five, and Crane was caught in between them. He bolted for another corridor, but Lord Hakerra was waiting for him in it. One swift punch and Crane was out cold.

"Nice punch," said Juni. "I'll put him in my ship."

"Where do we go from here?" asked Hakerra.

"We need to secure him," she replied. "Let's go to the _Rio Grande_."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Rio Grande**_**, Colorado System:**

"Mr. Crane? Nice to see you again."

Crane looked around, confused. He hadn't been in the brig of a Liberty battleship. There was a single person in the room, a female, though he couldn't make out who it was in the dim light. "Why am I here?"

"We want to clear up a few things. We highly suspect that _you_ are the one who procured autholine. I want to know who you gave it to, and when." The voice was quite familiar to Crane, though he couldn't quite place it.

"I'm sorry; I haven't a clue what you're talking about. You must have the wrong man."

"Then why did you run from us?"  
"I thought you were the working for the Orrids. They don't like me." It was an obvious lie, and the woman didn't buy it for a second.

"So I've heard. We know of your connection to them, and of Steven Grimes'. We know you gave him the autholine on Nome Base, and we know that you were privy into its use. Give me some concrete evidence so we can prove Grimes was the one who poisoned Vanessa. Maybe I can help you avoid a life sentence."

Crane considered his options. He had put the voice to the female he'd met on Carina, and he also knew that she wasn't the type to bluff. Given the choice between saving his own ass and that of another, there was no choice. "I can't do that. The best I can do is give you the orders I 'liberated' from Grimes' ship. They were from the high ups in the Orrid system. All you need to do is protect me and my family from the Orrids."

"Where are the orders?"

"In my ships computer. Entry code Crane-Nine-Six-Theta-One."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Mississippi**_**, New York System:**

_"One of our operatives will create a distraction at oh-five-hundred hours. That should leave the room unattended for about five minutes. Place the autholine into one of the dishes, and hopefully, Michael himself will be the unfortunate victim. Any of his family will do,"_ said the recording of the orders. Juni turned it off and faced Director Lane.

"It goes on to plot Jacobi's overthrow in detail, including where to place her. If the orders were followed, then Trent's hunch that she's in the Alaska System is correct."

Lane looked dumbstruck at the now black monitor. "That sonofabitch," he croaked. "He killed my daughter. He's become a traitor by conspiring with terrorists." He turned to Juni with fire in his eyes. "All right, I'm convinced. We _have_ to act. I'll order all of our ships here. We'll start a coordinated assault on Manhattan in an –"

Suddenly, the alarm klaxons started blaring. The _Mississippi_ rocked violently. _We're under attack,_ observed Juni.

Lane and Juni ran onto the bridge as another salvo hit. "Report."

The con officer turned with a darkened gaze. "Sir, the Battleship _Missouri_ has opened fire on us."


	7. Chapter 7

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 7**

**Battleship **_**Mississippi**_**, New York System:**

"They are ordering us to surrender, or we will be destroyed. Sir, why is the _Missouri_ attacking us?"

The _Mississippi_ rocked again. On screen, three ships, the _Missouri_ and two cruisers, were pounding at the _Mississippi_.

Lane looked as glum as he ever had. This had been their last chance to resolve the situation peacefully. "They're the enemy now. Set a course for the Badlands. Magellan Jump Gate."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Mississippi**_**, Magellan System:**

Trent was washing down his third ale. _Well, it looks like Liberty hates me again. What a surprise._

"Trent?" Juni said from behind him. "We've received word that warrants have been given for _all_ Navy and LSF operatives to be arrested on treason. Almost all of the battleships have been taken over by Police, but the _Rio Grande_ and the _Liberty_ were able to fight them off. The Police have been forced out of Florida, so it's on our side. That's where we're heading now."

"Great," he said sarcastically. "So, we're outlaws from Liberty _again_. Once was enough, twice is just unjust." He took another drink. "I hate Liberty."

"Well, Liberty isn't our only concern. Kusari has accepted the warrants, which means we are outlaws _there_. Hispania won't allow us into their borders, Rheinland has officially declared us 'enemies of the state,' and Bretonia has… done nothing. _Again_."

"Oh, and let's not forget the Orrids, the Xenos, the Mollys, the Gaians, and, oh yes, and the Nomads. Well, I suppose it could be worse. I mean, _all_ of Sirius could hate us, right?"

Juni looked at Trent with a disapproving stare. "Well, at least someone can get a laugh out of this. If you want to go to Bretonia and sit around for the rest of your life, then go ahead. But here in Liberty, please stop assing around."

Trent turned to face Juni. "'Assing around?' Look, I first came to Liberty because some blue worm blew up the station I was on. Then I got embroiled in a conflict that nearly got me killed more times than I can count, and thought, _'Hey, such things only happen once in a lifetime, if that. Let's never do it again.'_ And then _this_ happens. And now you come here, expecting Bretonian help, and in the same breath, accuse us of 'assing around?' I don't think so. We may not be great, but we are proud, so don't go around insulting _my_ home."

"Trent, when was the last time Bretonia was actively involved with colony politics? The last time it happened was _never_. You're too involved with the Mollys and the Gaians. Well now, your people have unleashed them on us, and you neutrality isn't acceptable any more."

How quickly this had turned from a report into a yelling argument on the finer aspects of the colonies. Trent abruptly stood up, slamming his glass so hard on the bar that it shattered.

"Well of course we're neutral!" yelled Trent. "You people have had everything handed to you for so long that you've forgotten that we aren't all as fortunate as Liberty. Rheinland's virtually broke, even though it has a _huge_ mineral supply. Kusari has crime so far up its ass it can barely breathe. Hispania is dying as we speak. Bretonia is on the verge of civil war. Meanwhile, Liberty sits at the center of the sector and complains that everyone else is too laid back in sector politics. And then you wonder _why_ Liberty is so detested. Are you _really_ that stupid?"

Juni stared at Trent, dumbfounded, and her expression turned icy. "Well, if Bretonia is _so_ unwilling to help stop Sirius from falling apart around them, why the _hell_ are you here? We need people that actually give a damn what happens, so either pull your act together or get out!"

"Fine, I'm leaving." Trent turned on his heels and stormed out of the bar. Juni simply shook her head.

* * *

**Freeport 12, Florida System:**

"Jimmie Ray, an honor to meet you," said Lane formally to the head of Freeport 12. "I appreciate that you'll allow us to use Freeport 12 as our headquarters."

"Do not misunderstand; we don't intend this as a sign of our involvement with colony affairs. We simply believe that if this new Liberty government comes to power, they will eject us from Liberty space, or just kill us." Despite the seemingly smooth manner that Ray stated it, Lane realized that it was a just a cover for the fact that they _did_ care about colony affairs. Lane simply nodded, however.

Several minutes later, he entered Freeport 12's bar. There were several Rogues, Hackers, and former Outcasts in the room, and they looked none the happier to see him. Lane drew in a deep breath and addressed them.

"All right. We are in a state of crisis. Help us, and we will not prosecute you when this is over. We require assistance. Will any of you help us?"

"I will," said a Rogue. Several others seconded his opinion. Lane smiled, knowing he had found several valuable allies.

"Understood. Report to your respective home bases and tell them of our new offer of friendship." With that, the criminals left. The bar cleared, he called in the rest of his staff and started the meeting.

"All right, what is the full rundown of our resources?"

Juni, his new right hand woman, answered promptly. "The _Liberty_ is currently making minor repairs and will join us shortly. The _Mississippi_ is the only battleship we have fully operational. I have contacted Casper Orillion of The Order, and he says that given the circumstance, he believes bringing in the _Osiris_ would be a wise idea. So, we have battleships _Mississippi_, _Liberty_, _Rio Grande_, _Enterprise_, and _Osiris_."

Tobias, who had come back from Leeds when Juni had asked, asked, "_Enterprise_?"

"The _Enterprise_ is one of four ships recently built in the Alaska System," replied Juni. "Its sister ships are the _Liberty_, the _Wisconsin_, and the _Constitution_. The _Enterprise_ and the _Constitution_ are in the Alaska System, the former awaiting assignment and the latter finishing construction.

"In addition, we have five cruisers: _Michigan_, _Vermont_, _Liberator_, _Ticonderoga_, and _Washington_. We also have several dozen fighters, two systems and their economic resources, and quite an intelligence network."

"Excellent work, Agent Zane," said Lane. An officer came in and handed a note to Lane, whose face fell. He turned and addressed the crowd. "Agents King and Zane, we have a situation. Take the _Vermont_ and the _Washington_ to the Kepler System. The _Rio Grande_, whilst escaping from the Colorado System, has come under _heavy_ Xenos attack. Agent Zane is the CO of this mission. Bring back the _Rio Grande_ in one piece. Dismissed."

* * *

**Cruiser **_**Vermont**_**, Florida System:**

"Set course for the Everglade Nebula," ordered Juni to the _Vermont_'s helm officer. "There's a jump hole leading to Kepler there. Inform me when we arrive." She turned to Tobias. "Tobias, may I speak to you in the captain's room?"

They walked into the room adjoining the bridge. "Tobias, Trent –"

"Yes, he told me on his way to Bretonia," said Tobias. "I'm sorry about that; I think he ingested a tad too much alcohol for his own good. Don't worry about it; I think he'll come back once he's sober, although I'm not certain."

"Is Liberty really so detested?"

Tobias hesitated. "I'll admit, most of the colonies resent you in some way. Liberty has everything it could ever want and yet still demands assistance from the other colonies. Case in point is Rheinland's sellout of Stuttgart's farms to Synth Foods. Many of us see, though, that Liberty _does_ help us, so we generally keep our thoughts to ourselves. So, am I going to be in my Hawk?"

"Yes. You, King, and I will join three other fighters. They're being carried on the cruisers, to save fuel. We're likely to encounter heavy resistance, and don't forget that Kepler is surrounded in a radioactive nebula, so keep a healthy supply of nanobots."

"Don't worry about me; Bretonian fighters are built to withstand radiation." The com panel beeped as Tobias finished speaking.

_"Agent Zane, we've reached the jump hole to Kepler."_

"Very well, take us through."

* * *

**Cruiser **_**Vermont**_**, Kepler System:**

Tobias sat in his fighter, running through preflight checks. _All system green, weapons on-line._ "I'm ready over here, Ms. Zane."

_"All right. Zane to bridge, signal the Washington to launch her fighters. Alpha squadron, launch now."_

Alpha squadron, consisting of Juni, Tobias, and an LSF pilot, launched from the _Vermont_. Beta squadron, also three fighters strong, launched from the _Washington_ ahead of the _Vermont_.

_"Alpha-One, this is Beta-One,"_ said King's voice. _"We're all ready to rock and roll over here. We're about two minutes ahead of you."_ King paused as he read a readout. _"Be warned, I'm detecting seven Xenos ships. Should I engage?"_

_"Affirmative. Protect the _Washington_, but keep moving. Alpha-One to _Vermont_, is the coolant leak sealed?"_

_"Yes, we're increasing to full speed. Rendezvous with _Washington _in one minute, forty-five seconds."_

_"Acknowledged. All right Alpha, _Vermont_ can take it from here. Increase to full throttle; let's get to Beta's position ASAP. Weapons to full."_

Tobias couldn't see a thing through the thick dark matter nebula. Within seconds, however, a battle was clearly visible. Three Liberty fighters dodged around six Xeno fighters. _Now it's one on one._ Tobias picked a particularly damaged fighter and laid into him. Its shields were already out, but Tobias' shots wouldn't connect very often. Still, with an already damaged hull, he made short work of it.

He brought around his Hawk for another pass. Another Xeno ship exploded, and Tobias noted that another Liberty fighter was gone. Two Xeno ships made a run on the _Washington_, which had, by this point, taken quite a bit of damage. It destroyed one of the fighters, and the other skimmed the hull. Tobias went on its tail, but didn't fire because he risked hitting the _Washington_. As soon as the Xeno ship cleared, Tobias blasted him with full weapons. His shields fell, and a salvo from the _Washington_ finished him off in seconds.

The _Vermont_ had closed the gap and fallen into formation with the _Washington_. The two remaining Xeno ships, realizing they were woefully outgunned, fled in the direction of Nome. Five Liberty-aligned fighters remained.

_"Good work people,"_ said Juni. _"Rendezvous with the _Rio Grande_ in about three minutes, twenty seconds."_

_"Beta-Three, your port stabilizer is damaged,"_ noted King. _"Fall back and dock with the _Washington_ to get repairs."_

_"Yes sir,"_ said Beta-Three.

Tobias checked his weapons, which showed full charge. _The radiation in the system hasn't affected my systems yet. Bretonian shields are quite reliable in that manner._ He then checked the loot he had pulled in from the first ship. _A Scorpion, a thruster, and some food rations. Not bad, I suppose._ He then applied some nanobots to his hull, which, unlike his systems, had been damaged by the radiation. An alert activated on his com panel.

_"Seventeen Xenos ships dead ahead,"_ remarked Juni. _"There's the _Rio Grande_."_

The _Rio Grande_ looked worse for the wear. She was trailing a large flame, and several weapon emplacements were missing. Also, the back part of the ship had been breached, and she was noticeably slower than usual. The Xeno ships continued attacking, although four broke off to welcome the task force.

Immediately, the Xenos ships launched Starkillers at the cruisers. The _Vermont_ took heavy damage, and the _Washington_ was on the brink of destruction. Then the Xeno ships turned their attention to the fighters. Tobias wasn't immediately attacked; instead, the ships focused on Juni and King. Tobias launched into action, poking some shots at the nearest ship.

That got its attention. It broke off of King and headed straight for Tobias. The ship fired a missile, then attacked with Tarantula's. _They're too easy to provoke._ Tobias' shields held, and he pulled up as the launched a countermeasure. The missile lost Tobias and hit the _Vermont_, which took minimal damage. Tobias lined up and let loose his weapons. Both ships shields failed at the same time, and since both were Hawk's, their hulls should fail at the same time. However, Tobias' weapons were a fair bit more powerful, and the Xeno ship disintegrated. Tobias applied the last of his nanobots, as well as some shield batteries, and noticed that the _Rio Grande_ had fallen into formation with the _Vermont_ and the _Washington_. The Xeno ships, obviously piloted by experienced fighters, stayed out of range of the combined weapons of the three capital vessels.

Several Xeno ships abandoned their assault on the _Rio Grande_ and started focusing on the _Washington_. Despite heavy cover fire, the Xeno ships had inflected considerable damage on the wounded cruiser; the _Washington_ exploded spectacularly. "Damn," Tobias muttered. The Xeno ships then advanced on the _Rio Grande_ through the new hole in defense and opened fire. Tobias locked onto another ship and assaulted it, but the Xenos were too engaged with trying to destroy the battleship to notice.

_"_Vermont_, close in on the _Rio Grande_, and try to close up that hole,"_ ordered Juni. In short order, the _Vermont_ flanked closely the _Rio Grande_. The Xeno ships, realizing this, concentrated their assault on the _Vermont_. It, however, was in much better shape than the _Washington_ had been, and it remained intact. The Xenos retreated from the ships, and focused on the fighters. Once again, Tobias found himself locked in battle with a Xeno ship.

Its assault was coordinated, but not effective. Again, Tobias' superior weaponry proved invaluable, as the foes shields disintegrated. The ship got off a powerful punch, knocking through Tobias' shields and landing several hits, before breaking up. Tobias immediately turned and locked onto another ship. That proved to be a mistake, however, as he remained unshielded. He took a tremendous pounding, and only just managed to bring his foes shields down. He remembered he was out of nanobots, so he engaged his thruster and moved away from the battle. In short order, his shields came back on-line, and he angled back into the fray.

His target was waiting for him, although with him having shields, they were now evenly matched. The ships hull crumbled under Tobias' assault, and he moved on to the next target. However, he noticed them running, primarily because they had been reduced in numbers so greatly. They were out of danger for now.

_"All ships, set a course back to Florida,"_ ordered Juni. _"Let's get the hell out of here."_


	8. Chapter 8

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 8**

**Florida System, Liberty Space:**

It was out of the frying pan and into the fire. A rather large greeting party was waiting for them. _These aren't Xenos, though. Kusari Navel Forces. Juni wasn't kidding when she said they were against us. They must be from Battleship _Yamato_._

_"_Vermont_, _Rio Grande_, get clear and head back for Freeport 12,"_ said Juni. _"We'll try to cover your escape. All right people, we need to hold them off."_

Tobias engaged the nearest Dragon, which had a clear advantage. Its weapons ripped through Tobias easily, and Tobias' weapons weren't affecting the Kusari shields much. Another Liberty ship was dropped like a fly, and the Kusari ships were barely damaged. _We can't hold out for much longer._ Fortunately, they only had to hold off the fighters, not destroy them. The capital ships were clear by this point, so Juni gave the order to fall back. Fortunately, the Kusari ships didn't pursue them.

* * *

**Freeport 12, Florida System:**

"Good job out there, people. We brought back the _Rio Grande_, but the cost was high," reported Juni. In contrast to Juni's optimism, however, Lane appeared conflicted about the mission; on one hand, they had brought back the _Rio Grande_ relatively intact, while on the other hand they had lost the _Washington_ and three fighters. In the end, though, he agreed with Juni.

"I agree, you did well out there. I'm not sure that the _Washington_ could have been saved, and it's a small price to pay for a battleship. One thing's for sure; we need to know what the Orrids are up to." Lane looked at the exhausted crew of the two ships. "A development occurred while you were away. Two hours ago, the _Michigan_ was attacked and destroyed by the Orrids near the Okeechobee Nebula. We have no idea how they got there and we need to find out." He paused and looked around the room. "A man, Elaine Gomez, was convicted of assisting the Orrids about a year ago." At this, Juni raised an eyebrow. "He's currently serving out seven-hundred forty-two life sentences, mainly for his activities as an Outcast. But he knows something about the Orrids, perhaps how they keep surprising us. He's being held at Prison Station Mitchell, in the Alaska System, where we believe President Jacobi is held."

"Are we giving Gomez a deal?" asked Juni stonily.

Lane looked somewhat irked at the interruption, but something dawned on him rather quickly. "You were part of the team that took him down, correct?"

Juni nodded. "It took four years and two agents' lives to capture and convict him. I'd rather not have that be in vain."

Lane sighed. "Unfortunately, we may not have that luxury. Make him any reasonable deal he wants to get the information; it is vital that we know all we can about the Orrids and their plans." He turned to address the rest of the group. "Your mission is to take the _Liberty_, the _Mississippi_, and the _Liberator_ into the New York system, penetrate Zone-21, and bring Gomez and President Jacobi back alive. You leave immediately. The CO for this mission will again be Agent Zane. Good luck."

Juni turned to Tobias. "I'd like you to join us again. You'd take control of one of the fighter squadrons."

"Count me in," Tobias responded. "I just need to make some quick repairs and I'll be ready."

* * *

**Florida System, Liberty Space:**

_"Is everyone ready to go?"_ asked Charles Wester, the captain of the _Liberty_.

_"Alpha-Wing ready,"_ said Juni.

_"Beta-Wing ready,"_ said King.

"Gamma-Wing, ready," replied Tobias.

_"Delta-Wing standing by,"_ said Agent Karl Briggs aboard the _Liberty_.

_"This is Battleship _Liberty_ to Freeport 12 requesting permission to depart."_

_"Permission granted. Good luck, _Liberty_."_

They set course for the New York Jump Gate. Tobias switched to a personal com with Juni. "Ms. Zane, do you think it's wise to go right into the heart of Liberty space?"

_"No, I don't,"_ she said. _"But we don't really have a choice. We need to find out what the Orrids are up to, and we need to get Jacobi."_

"As far as I know, no one has been to Alaska since you and Trent were there, except prisoners and engineers. Do you think it'll be as guarded as the last time?"

_"I hope not. There are reports, though, that the _Virginia_ has been seen near Zone-21,"_ Juni said. _"The _Virginia_ is the sister ship of the _Missouri_, so she's a formidable vessel."_

"Has Orillion contacted you yet?"

_"No, not since before we went to Kepler. He said the _Osiris_ was in Hispania, making its way towards Liberty. He probably won't be seen for another few days."_

"How about Ed? Has he talked to you since he left?"

_"No,"_ Juni said, _"he hasn't even responded to my calls. Maybe you should talk to him."_

"Right. I'll try to do that, as soon as we get back. Is the _Enterprise_ going to assist us?"

_"No, they're stalled with engine problems. Actually, the _Enterprise_ has never worked properly. She should have been launched alongside _Liberty_ seven years ago. She should be next to the Alaska side of the gate, though, so she'll provide us with some cover."_ She switched to a universal comm. _"We've reached the jump gate. Proceed through."_

* * *

**New York System, Liberty Space:**

_No welcoming committee. How lucky for us._

_"All right, we're going to move through the system on cruise,"_ said Captain Wester. _"Don't bother with the tradelanes, they aren't going to help. Set a course towards the backside of Manhattan."_

They rode in cruise for the duration of the journey. They encountered only a single patrol which seemed to ignore them, obviously thinking them Liberty Navy ships. Tobias doubted that such a problem would go uncorrected for long. Soon, Zone-21 became visible. They set a course towards the sole opening in the minefield.

_"Approaching entrance, slow to – damn,"_ said Juni. Tobias saw her cause for concern; a single Liberty Battleship blocking the only entrance to Zone-21.  
_"This is Battleship _Virginia_ to enemy vessels: stand down at once or be destroyed."_

_"Destroyed? With what, exactly? We outgun and outnumber you, so perhaps _you_ should consider – oh."_ Three new contacts appeared on-screen behind them: Battleships _Missouri_, _Wisconsin_, and _Yukon_. They had been led into a trap.

_"I repeat: stand down at once."_

_"Negative. _Mississippi_, try to punch a –"_ started Juni, but she was cut off by four battleships firing on the fleet. Many fighters appeared from the enemy ships and two Liberty Cruisers were closing fast. The situation was hopeless. _"_Liberator_, use your guns and disable _Virginia_. Delta-Wing, launch and provide cover fire."_

The _Liberator_'s forward cannon blasted at the _Virginia_ several times in the engine, disabling its ability to move. The _Liberty_ and _Mississippi_ followed it into Zone-21, followed closely by the Liberty convoy. Their fleet still had to contend with _Virginia_'s squadron of fighters, but all they needed to do was punch through them. Tobias went in blazing, taking down a fighter within seconds. He, however, was damaged by two flanking fighters, and he pushed to full throttle.

It was a fight all the way to the jump gate. The _Liberty_ took the hardest beating, suffering catastrophic damage to its engines and moving only on momentum and maneuvering thrusters for half of the journey. The _Mississippi_ and the _Liberator_ took more moderate but still severe damage. The Liberty fighters from the _Virginia_ were destroyed, but almost all of Beta-Wing was gone, Alpha-Wing was cut in half, Gamma-Wing took heavy losses, and Karl Briggs was the only survivor of Delta-Wing. The jump gate opened on command, and the fleet hurried through it, _Liberty_ being tractored by the other two ships.

* * *

**Alaska System, Liberty Space:**

Alaska hadn't changed from how Trent had described it several years ago. It was encased in the Denali Nebula, giving it a beautiful but haunted look. Juneau Shipyard, the largest shipyard Tobias had ever seen, was located off to the left of the jump gate. A battleship, the _Constitution_, lay in one of its docks, along with several incomplete cruisers. The _Enterprise_ was settled off to the right.

_"All right, I've locked the gate behind us,"_ said Captain Wester. _"Juneau Shipyard, this is Battleship _Liberty_. Request permission to dock and repair."_

_"Request granted _Liberty_. Welcome home. The other ships are also welcome to dock."_ _Mississippi_ and _Liberator_ towed _Liberty_ to one of the empty docks, then _Mississippi_ took the other empty dock and _Liberator_ docked with one of the end stations.

* * *

**Juneau Shipyard, Alaska System:**

"Captain Wester, we meet at last," said a tall man with black hair as he shook Wester's hand. "I wasn't here when you took charge of the _Liberty_. We'll make sure she's repaired. I'm Commander Donald Lock, commander of Juneau."

"Thank you Commander Lock," said Wester. "This is Jun'ko Zane, the CO of this mission."

"We need to get to Mitchell," said Juni. "Do you know if President Jacobi is there?"

"We're not sure," replied Lock, "but it's quite possible. A transport came through two days ago, not long after the story about her arrest broke, transporting a person of extreme importance. It may very well have been her."

"How is the _Enterprise_ coming along?" asked Wester as the group of officers walked to the station's command deck.

Lock's face became distorted with an expression somewhere between shame and exasperation. "As you know, we _finally_ launched the _Enterprise_ not long ago, a good five years behind schedule, but she didn't even make it to the jump gate before her engines died. She hasn't moved under her own power since. I'm starting to wonder whether she's even worth our time."

"She's been called the 'biggest blunder in Liberty Navy history' by the media," Juni explained to Tobias, "and really, I can't blame them. It's embarrassing."

"Too true," said Lock with a humorless chuckle.

"How are the rest of the ships coming along?" inquired Wester.

"The _Indiana_ is only a few months or so from completion, but the rest aren't expected to be complete for over a year. We won't be able to bolster the fleet much, I'm afraid."

"Commander Lock!" said an officer who was running out of an elevator ahead of them. "Prison Station Mitchell is under attack!"

"What?" exclaimed Lock. "By who?"

"Unknown."

Tobias and Juni looked at one another. Even as they wondered how anyone else got into the system, they were running for their ships. "We have to stop them," Juni said needlessly.

* * *

**Alaska System, Liberty Space:**

They engaged cruise as soon as they left dock. King was right behind them, with the rest of the fighters behind him. One thing they overlooked at first was the Border World Sabers that were dancing around. The quickly become painfully aware of them, however, when several of them opened fire with long-bolted green weapons with an unusual spiral to them, while others launched Sunslayers, all directed at the gate.

_"What the hell?"_ said Juni. Almost as soon as she said that, the Alaska gate let off a tremendous explosion, crippling the gate. They were stuck in the Alaska System. The ships then turned and opened fire on Juneau and her defending fighters. The fighter's shields went out almost as soon as they were hit. The blasts impacted the unprotected ships, causing obscene amounts of hull damage.

_"I'm reading graviton surges… like a focused graviton weapon. Tobias, I think those are Orrid ships."_ Of course, by this time, with virtually no hull left, he had already figured that out. _How the hell did they manage to create graviton weapons?_ thought Tobias as he recalled Trent's spiel about them. Tobias knew that there was no way he could fight the Orrid ships; instead, he focused on dodging their shots. He made a hectic run for Mitchell, only to find the impossible once he reached it: jump holes appearing, sending out ships, and then disappearing. _Bloody hell, they're using artificial jump holes to move around! Where the _hell _did they get _that_ kind of technology?_ _Not even the Val'Kan Empire had that._ It answered so many questions, though; the jump hole in New Madrid, the graviton readings from the Independent Worlds, the destruction of the _Michigan_, and how the Orrids got into Alaska. Mitchell itself looked beyond hope; hull breaches covered the ugly prison ship, and it looked ready to come apart by its own volition. Tobias flipped his comm., but he got only static. _The jump holes must be interfering with the comm. That explains the comm. blackout in New Madrid. _Tobias set a course for one of the jump holes, realizing that it may be the only way out of the system. He entered it just before it collapsed, hoping the others would follow.

* * *

**Delta-45 System, Fringe Worlds:**

He came out inside of a large field of ice. His nav map told him he was in Delta-45, the system suspected of having an Orrid base. He saw the base now, built into a giant ice crystal. He also saw several Orrid ships heading this way. _Time to go now._ He engaged cruise, knowing he was out of disrupter range, and headed for the nearest base over T-5. On his way, Tobias realized that the base couldn't have created the jump holes; they were being remotely made, and ships were sent through to their destination. Tobias shook his head. The stakes had just been raised.

* * *

**Princeton Terraforming Station, Delta-45 System:**

The whole reason the Orrids were concerned about this system, T-5 was so early in the terraforming process that the atmosphere was still unbreathable. Instead, the operation was controlled from the orbital Princeton platform. He walked into the bar of the station and went up to the bartender.

"I need access to your long range communications," he stated. The bartender pointed to the far wall. Tobias put in Juni's comm. frequency. "Ms. Zane, can you hear me?" There was no response. He tried several more times, but got nothing. He then tried King. "Mr. King, are you there?"

"_Tobias? Have you heard from Juni?"_ came King's reply.

"No, I was about to ask you the same thing. Where are you?"

_"Delta-49. I came out pretty close to an Orrid base, but I was able to get away. I'm on Ozar. Juni and I realized that the jump holes were the only way out, and went through them. Juni entered hers first, so I know she isn't in Alaska. How about you?"_

"I found their base in Delta-45, inside the northern ice field. I'm on the Princeton platform over T-5." Tobias shook his head. "How did they produce those jump holes?"

_"I don't know, I thought that that was impossible without a jump gate. Listen, I contacted Orillion and the _Osiris_ is heading this way. I'll tell him to pick you up too, and we'll see if we can find Juni. See you in a few hours."_

Tobias signed off. _Hmm, maybe I'll have a pint or two…_

* * *

**Battleship **_**Osiris**_**, Delta-45 System:**

"Casper Orillion, meet Richard Winston Tobias III," said King in introduction.

"Tobias," Orillion said as he shook hands with him.

"Have you had any luck finding Ms. Zane?" asked Tobias.

Orillion shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Her ship's locater beacon isn't transmitting, which means she's either far outside of Sirius or…" he trailed off, not wanted to voice the other possibility. Tobias wasn't really surprised at this; there was every chance Juni had been killed by Orrid ships or dumped into a spatial anomaly.

"I think we're done in the Fringe Worlds," said King. "Let's head back to Florida." Orillion nodded and headed for the bridge.

"I'll be in the bar," said Tobias as he turned to the door.

King walked alongside Tobias. "Look, these Orrids are far more dangerous then we previously thought. We're going to need a lot more help than we're getting. Maybe you should call in a few friends."

"I know, and I intend to, as soon as we reach Florida."

"King, we have a problem," said a troubled Orillion, catching up to them. "Apparently, we're more popular than we realized. We need to go through the Sigma systems and through Liberty space to get to Florida, because Liberty has blocked off Harris."

"All right then," King said. "Take us through the Sigma systems."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Osiris**_**, Sigma-13 System:**

"And so there were about twelve Orrid ships right behind me. I said 'forget this, I'm not fighting.' So I tucked my tail in and ran. I never knew I was such a coward."

"Don't worry, I think all of us found out we were cowards today," said King. The two had been in the bar for several hours, talking about what had happened to the two of them over the last several years.

Tobias made a deep belly laugh, and was about to agree, but was cut short by a blast hitting the _Osiris_. King and Tobias looked about, and then ran to the bridge, as the ship took hit after massive hit. When they got to the bridge, they saw a sight before them that they didn't think they would _ever_ see again. But, looking at it closer, King realized that something was different about it.

A _giant_ capital ship was pounding _Osiris_ with heavy, advanced weapons, and the she was doing very little damage to it. _How did it get here?_ And the answer came almost as quickly: the Orrids. If _Osiris_ got back to Florida, their ability to move with artificial jump holes would be revealed. They'd lose the element of surprise that they had depended on, and they couldn't take that risk. They knew who could take on the _Osiris_ and win, and that was exactly what was going to happen.

For in front of them was a Nomad Superweapon.


	9. Chapter 9

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 9**

**Sigma-13 System, Border Worlds:**

According to popular legend amongst The Order, Orillion had found a ship from the Sol System. In it, a single man, General Atticus Rockford, was in hypersleep. Orillion woke him, and Rockford told Orillion of a new threat: the Nomads. He spoke of a 'blue superweapon' destroying Sol, and that he was the only survivor. While the validly of the claim, indeed, even the existence of Atticus Rockford, had never been verified, the claim of a Nomad Superweapon had. The Order had found it in the same system as Toledo and subsequently destroyed it.

Now, one of the monstrosities was in front of them. Dwarfing even a Nomad Battleship, although similar in appearance, it possessed _very_ powerful weapons and an even more powerful hull. The _Osiris_ was barely damaging the ship, and was falling back towards the Frankfurt jump hole.

"Full power to engines!" yelled Orillion over warning klaxons and fire extinguishers being used around the bridge. He was quite certain that a rib was bruised from a hard fall, and two of his men lay moaning on the floor.

"Sir, they're still overtaking us," said the helm officer after punching in the commands.

"Aft weapons failing," reported the tactical officer. Sparks shot out of the communication station, showering the comm. officer in sparks.

Orillion analyzed the situation. They couldn't outrun the ship, they couldn't outfight it, and they couldn't outlast it. He needed to bring the fighters into this. "Bring us about, launch all fighters," ordered Orillion. "Tobias, King, get out there and hold that thing off. And get a medic up here!"

It took barely two minutes at a full run to reach the hanger. Tobias launched from the _Osiris_, followed by several Order fighters and King. The superweapon looked even bigger out here. The _Osiris_ was now standing its ground and fighting. However, the fight was sadly one-sided. The superweapon was taking minor damage, but not nearly enough to make a difference. At the same time, parts of _Osiris_ were already being blown off the ship. _If only we had a few torpedo fighters…_

_"King, focus on the large construct in the center. That's its primary weapon, and if it uses it, it would destroy this whole system,"_ shouted Orillion.

Several Nomad Interceptors blasted out of the superweapon like missiles, and then turned to engage the oncoming Order flotilla. Tobias selected the nearest one and fired. Unfortunately, the Nomads had the advantage of being a millennia-old race, with weapons far in advance of humans. The interceptor took moderate damage, while Tobias was barely able to keep his Hawk together.

Meanwhile, the _Osiris_ was taking hit after hit, although its weapons seemed to have found a weak spot; the superweapon was taking noticeable damage. Still, the _Osiris_ was taking more damage than it was giving, and it was obvious the fight would be over in short order. Tobias looked, and found only two other fighters still flying. All three remaining fighters, including Tobias, were facing six Nomad Interceptors apiece.

_This is insane. There is no way we can fight this thing._ Tobias had taken out another interceptor, but was losing hull integrity faster than he could down Bretonian Rum. King and the other fighter pilot, Allison Jest, were ganging up on an interceptor, and Tobias joined them. Still, they were drastically outnumbered.

_"Full speed, prepare to ram that ship,"_ said Orillion suddenly, presumably to his helm officer.

_"Orillion, no! You can't –"_

_"Yes we can, King. All members of The Order are prepared to give their lives to save humanity from the Nomads, me included."_ A pause._ "Execute directive."_

The _Osiris_ careened towards the Superweapon. Before it could make it even halfway, however, a new voice spoke.

_"Return to the hell from which you came!"_ came a voice over the comm. _"All ships, open fire!"_

Suddenly, three dozen Border World Sabres appeared from the direction of the Frankfurt hole and launched a Sunslayer each. Nomad Superweapon or not, very little could survive such an onslaught. The ship ripped itself apart from the center, its main weapon having overloaded.

"_Herr Von Claussen, requesting permission engage the enemy."_ A wide smile crept across Tobias' face. Dead, indeed.

_"Damn timely of you," _said Orillion._ "Sweep up those Nomad ships."_

The cleanup took a little under twenty minutes, with not a single fighter lost. The barely victorious fighters returned to _Osiris_.

* * *

**Battleship **_**Osiris**_**, Sigma-13 System:**

"Von Claussen, welcome aboard. It's been quite awhile since I've seen you," said Orillion.

"Bundschuh business. I hope you understand, but I've had to keep a low profile. Mr. King, it is good to see you again. And you are?" he said to Tobias.

"Call me Tobias. It's an honor to finally meet you, Von Claussen," Tobias said. "Ed has spoken very highly of you, as has the Rheinland government."

"Von Claussen, thank you. You've saved all of our lives, again," said King. "We're on our way to Florida. Will you be joining us at Florida?"

"No," said Von Claussen. "I must return to Bruchsal. Although this fight has been won, others must be waged. The Orrids are in control of Rheinland, and we must drive them away. Drop our ships off in Frankfurt, and we'll manage to get back. If, however, you are in Rheinland and require assistance, we are always nearby."

"Very well. Good to see you." Von Claussen walked off, leaving Tobias, King, and Orillion alone. "We'll be heading for Florida as soon as we drop off Von Claussen. I hope we can make it without incident."

"So do I," said King. "Still, experience has taught me _not_ to believe that."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Osiris**_**, Hamburg System:**

Tobias and Orillion had been summoned to the bar by King, claiming that he'd found something on the artificial jump holes. They found King at the bar, drinking what looked like a Liberty Ale. "You found something?" asked Orillion.

"Yeah. I was talking long distance with Quintaine, and he thinks he's found the way that the Orrids create their jump holes. I'll try to explain what he said, but don't ask me too many questions – I'm no scientist." He waved his hands in exasperation. "Basically, they do the same thing a jump gate does, except they can target two arbitrary locations. To do that, they'd need a lot more power then I can imagine. They probably have the generator built around a star, using solar panels to collect massive amounts of solar radiation A structure of that size would dwarf anything we've built before. I think it's absurd, but the evidence is staring us in the face."

"Any way this device could fail to produce a jump hole?" asked Orillion as he and Tobias sat.

"Well," King started, "there are areas in Sirius that such a device couldn't reach due to – what was it he said? – right, 'gravimetric instabilities.' Something inside a dark matter nebula, or something that distorts gravity to a great extent. The only places he claimed could do this were Kepler, Galileo, Omega-41, Alpha-35, and Tohoku."

"Tohoku?" asked Orillion. "I wasn't aware of anything that could produce such a distortion there."

"Yeah, it's new," replied King. "It spontaneously appeared a few years ago; nobody knows what the hell it is. Quintaine said it's probably the strongest source of graviton radiation in Sirius. He also said that if one of these devices were built _inside_ the Tohoku anomaly, its own distortions would mean that the device could reach anywhere in Sirius."

"Are you sure you're not a scientist?" quipped Tobias.

"Quite."

_"Captain,"_ said Orillion's first officer over the comm.,_ "you need to get to the bridge. _Now._"_

"Well, at least we haven't been attacked," said King, as they walked to the bridge. "It seems that every time we enter a bar, we get attacked and have to rush to the bridge."

"Yes," said Tobias. "My legs have told me that several times recently." They entered the bridge a few minutes later, and Tobias felt he could cut the tension with a pair of scissors.

"What's the situation?" Orillion asked.

"Look for yourself," replied the first officer, pointing to the viewscreen. On-screen, the last vestiges of the Rheinland Military sat in front of them. Orillion sighed.

"Sir, they're opening a channel. I think they know we're here."

_"This is Rheinland Battleship _Westfalen_ to Order Battleship _Osiris_. We know of your position and demand that you uncloak immediately. If you do not do so, you will be destroyed. You have ten seconds to comply."_

Orillion nodded to the cloak officer, who punched in a command. The power supply relaxed and the lights returned to full brightness as the ship decloaked.

_"Your compliance is noted. Prepare to be boarded."_

"Tobias, King, you're with me," said Orillion. "We should see what they're up to before we allow them aboard." They walked towards the docking bay.

"What do you think they want?" asked King.

"If they know you're aboard, they may want us to hand you over," said Orillion. "I don't intend to let that happen."

As they approached the docking bay, Tobias turned to the Order captain. "Is it such a good idea for us to go in there, in case they _don't_ know we're here?"

"Good point. King, stay out here," Orillion said as they approached the docking bay. "Tobias, come with me. They don't know you're part of the resistance."

They entered the docking bay, where a Rheinland Gunboat had landed. A trio of Military officials stepped out, followed by several guards. One of the officials' stepped forward to meet Orillion.

"Jürgen Koch, captain of _Westfalen_."

"What do you want from us?" asked Orillion tersely.

"We wish to know why the _Osiris_ is moving under cloak through Rheinland space. We also want to know how long you've been here. And why you're transporting Liberty Rebels."

"Will we be detained for that?" asked Orillion, surprisingly confident.

At that, Koch grinned. "The declaration of war on the Rebels was simply a political maneuver, designed to keep public image as well as minimize hostilities with the Grimes administration. Unofficially, the Rheinland government _supports_ the Rebels, at least, the Chancellor does."

Orillion raised an eyebrow, then grinned as well. This was a bit unexpected but welcome. He relaxed and called King in. "We're moving towards the Florida system through Liberty space in order to avoid a blockade they've set for us; we've been in Rheinland space for only a few hours," he answered as King walked up to them.

Koch nodded. "Please be on your way. Make note to Chairman Lane that we will assist if situation allows." Koch turned and climbed back into the gunboat, which then left.

"Well," said King, "I'd say that that went well. Now let's get back to Florida, preferably _before_ it's overrun by Liberty."

* * *

**Freeport 12, Florida System:**

"I wouldn't hesitate to call this mission a failure, _Mister_ Orillion," fumed Lane in response to Orillion's statement to the contrary. "We lost _every_ ship in our fleet except the _Ticonderoga_, which is one of the oldest ships in the fleet, the _Rio Grande_, which will be under repairs for the next two months, and the _Osiris_, which is _hardly_ capable of defending an entire system against a Navy."

"What about the _Vermont_?" asked King.

"It's gone into Kusari to assist the Blood Dragons," Lane said offhandedly, then turned back to Orillion. He was still quite angry. "We have lost virtually _any_ chance of success."

"Mike, it was beyond our control," protested Orillion shortly. "The _Orrids_ destroyed the Alaska gate, not us. We couldn't have foreseen it, nor could we have prevented it."

"And just _how_ did the Orrids get into Alaska?" inquired Lane forcefully.

"They created artificial jump holes," said King, "and used them to move ships into the system."

"What do you mean artificial jump holes?" demanded Lane. "I was under the impression that creating them would require too much energy to be feasible, and that it's _far_ beyond our technology."

"And those impressions are correct," said Orillion. "What they are doing is _not_ feasible. It is, in fact, quite wasteful of resources. As to how they got it, I can't say. Neither the Hajarran Union nor any of the other ancient races have had that kind of technology, and it certainly is beyond us." He sighed. "There's nothing we can do about it, either. I've received news from contacts in Hispania that they're building a device that can detect these jump holes as they form, but so far, they've had little luck." He looked at the Director sympathetically. "Calm down, Mike. You need to think through this rationally."

Lane considered Orillion's words for a moment, and he grimaced in acknowledgement of Orillion's logic, though his tone was still short. "Yes, yes, I know. Worrying about isn't going to change anything; we're going to have to find a way to work around this. Now we just need to worry about defending Florida, which is going to be next to impossible." He looked at Orillion. "Is there any way to know where this jump hole generator is?"

"Unfortunately, no," the Order leader replied. "We can't trace the jump holes back to their source because none of them appear to originate at the generator itself. We do know, however, that large gravimetric disturbances cause the generator to not be able to create a jump hole. If they can build one near one of these disturbances, it would amplify their power, so this effect would be negated. The only areas with centralized gravimetric disturbances small enough to be built around are Tohoku unknown distortion, Alpha-35's black hole, and Omega-41's neutron star. However, Tohoku's effect would be far more powerful then the other two."

"Understood," said Lane as he rubbed his temples. "A development occurred while you were gone."

"A development _always_ occurs when we're gone," King said wryly. "What is it this time?"

"Nevada Outpost, a forward base against the Nomads, has gone dark. With this new information, I think it's reasonable to assume that the Orrids have opened a jump hole and caused the Nomads to enter the system en masse. We want you to go to Kansas Outpost in the Omicron Delta system, ascertain what has happened, and eliminate any Nomad threat. If the Nomads do get through, we'll be trying to route them out for the next century. King, take the _Ticonderoga_. The _Osiris_ will have to suffice to protect Florida."

"Maybe not," said a voice from the front of the bar. Everyone turned to see Trent standing next to a female Bretonian captain in the doorway of the bar. "It seems that Bretonia has decided to stop 'assing around' and do something about the situation. They've sent Battleship _Essex_ to support you."

Lane smiled for the first time in weeks. "Trent, thank you."

"Oh, don't thank me," Trent said. "I argued _against_ them sending help, but I'm just a lowly civilian."

"Try to remember that," the captain next to Trent said. "Judi Holmes, captain of the _Essex_."

"Captain Holmes, thank you for your help. I would like –"

_"Director Lane, you have an alpha-priority message,"_ said an officer on the comm.

"Nice to see you back, Trent," said King as he passed Trent on the way out.

"Yeah," said Trent as though he didn't quite agree.

"I'll take it here," Lane said to the officer. The bar was filled with loud noises; hull breaches, explosions, weapons fire, amongst other chaos. A voice was barely audible through the sound.

_"Repeat, we _–_ at _–_ and req _– _diate assista _– _goku"_ and then it cut off. Trent immediately recognized the voice as Lord Hakerra's. "Kyoto Base is under attack," he translated.

"Probably by Orrids trying to get to Tohoku," said Lane as he quickly sized up the situation. If they took Tohoku, they would be able to reach anywhere in Sirius. It would be impossible to track them or hide from them. "Send all of the other available ships – the _Essex_, the _Osiris_, and I'll contact the _Vermont_ and have it meet up with you. Trent, Tobias, you two lead the fighters. Captain Holmes, please lead the capital ships. Godspeed, men."


	10. Chapter 10

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 10**

**Battleship **_**Osiris**_**, Delta-49 System:**

Having taken a route that avoided most of Kusari space, Trent was left with a lot of spare time to talk with Tobias.

"We didn't find any trace of her in the sector," said Tobias in a grave tone. He was sitting on a stool in the bar, while Trent sat on a pull-up chair from one of the tables.

"We should have some signal from her," Trent said, shaking his head. "Even if Juni was killed, her ship should still be sending a signal. Unless it was destroyed…"

"It isn't, that's all I'm saying. I have no idea why."

"She'll turn up, dead or alive," said Trent. "Although I'm interested in _where_ she turned up. Both you and King ended up near Orrid bases; she probably did too. Perhaps even the main base. If we find her, we'll probably know the location of that base."

Tobias leaned back onto the bar. "Did you really mean what you said to her?"

"Every word," said Trent, taking a sip of his drink. "Should've said it long ago. Liberty's too complacent; they don't realize how bad things are elsewhere, and I'm sick of it. Dublin and Edinburgh are threatening to secede from Bretonia, and I could be over there trying to prevent that. I don't like it when people I'm trying to help don't give a rat's ass, so I left."

"I'm not saying I disagree with you," Tobias said, "but surely you realize that if Liberty is unstable, nothing will hold our systems in check."

"I know," said Trent bitterly as he downed the rest of his drink. "Doesn't mean I have to like it, though."

Tobias sat up. "By the way, what happened to your Hawk? You _just_ bought it."

"What can I say?" said Trent. "I ran into a vicious group of Mollys in Manchester. I took care of them, anyway. And I like my Crusader."

"Really? You didn't like your last one," Tobias pointed out.

"Something must have been wrong with it; this one flies fine."

_"Trent, this is Orillion. We're approaching the Chugoku jump hole."_

"Finally," Trent responded. Turning towards Tobias, he said, "Let's head to the hanger."

* * *

**Chugoku System, Kusari Space:**

_"All right, let's hope there's something left to defend,"_ said Orillion.

"We're coming up on Kyoto Base now," said Trent. As they dropped out of cruise, they found Kyoto barely keeping itself together. Dozens of Orrid ships flew about, outpacing the slower Dragons. Their weapons tore through the Blood Dragon's shields easily. Off to the left of Kyoto, _Vermont_ was already fighting, having gone ahead. She had taken moderate damage, but flew into formation with _Osiris_ and the _Essex_ once they had arrived. Several Orrid ships broke off and went to greet the battle group. _Here we go._

The first salvo slammed into the fighter group, tearing through its ranks like butter. The graviton weapons were quite effective, Trent noted. He fired continuously at an Orrid fighter, but its shields remained up. Trent's own shields were failing, and he was fighting impossible odds, so he angled towards the capital ship group, which was faring much better – Orrid ships didn't seem as capable to take on capital ships as they did fighters.

Trent's target was skimming the _Vermont_, using its proximity to stop Trent from firing. As he pulled up, he fired a Moonstalker at Trent. The missile detonated a few meters to Trent's port, thanks to some skilled maneuvering on Trent's part, but it caused heavy damage to his unshielded port wing. Trent angled again, but this time towards the asteroid field. The asteroids themselves provided both danger and protection, but Trent was primarily interested in their ability to scramble sensors. He weaved in and out between them before picking one of the larger asteroids. He made a wide arc behind it, but pulled in the middle of the turn as his shields regenerated. He swung around it just in time to tail his enemy.

He fired continuously for several seconds before the ships shields failed. He then came at it full throttle, firing all weapons, before ramming it. Trent's shields held, but the enemy fighter veered into the large asteroid from the impact, where it exploded. Trent pulled in the loot and headed back towards Kyoto. The battle had progressed since Trent's jaunt into the asteroid field; the Liberty fighters had been reduced to five in number, the Bretonian fighters had dropped to ten, the Blood Dragons had only a single fighter left, and the Orrid ships were directly attacking Kyoto, ignoring the capital ships completely. Trent decided that the capital ships were the key to winning the battle.

"_Essex_, _Osiris_, _Vermont_, close in on Kyoto. Attack the fighters at point blank range. Tobias and all other fighters, stick close to the capital ships."

_"Who made you boss?"_ quipped Tobias, as he moved to do as Trent said.

"I did," Trent replied. He flew alongside _Vermont_ and used it as cover to attack an unsuspecting Orrid. The ship flew off in another direction, but had taken some damage. Trent applied a set of nanobots to his hull, and targeted the next Orrid fighter. Already locked in a dogfight with Tobias, it was unable to withstand both Tobias' firing and dodging and Trent firing from behind. The rest of the Orrid ships backed off to a safe distance to regroup. "Good work, people," Trent said, "but this standoff won't last long. Make any repairs you need to, but stay alert."

* * *

**Cruiser **_**Ticonderoga**_**, Omicron Delta System:**

"Commander King, we're approaching Kansas," said the helm officer.

"Contact them."

_"Cruiser _Ticonderoga_, welcome. We appreciate your timeliness. The situation has grown complicated; we've lost contact with our patrol near the jump hole."_

"Understood," said King as he headed for the hanger. "Lieutenant Styles, you have the bridge."

* * *

**Omicron Delta System, Edge Worlds:**

Several ships launched from Kansas Outpost, resembling Juni's modified Defender. _Those must be the Liberators, the new Very Heavy Fighter._ Based on Juni's design, they had been built specifically for Nomad combat. "Sigma-One, this is Beta-One. Nice ships. Let's roll." With that, King ordered his fleet, which included the _Ticonderoga_, two gunboats, and the fighters, to the Unknown jump hole.

_"Beta-One, be warned; a Nomad Battleship occupies an area nearby. We've been unable to destroy it, so perhaps we should avoid it."_

"Understood, Kansas."

The trip was long, and the radiation required constant application of nanobots. They encountered a few Nomad patrols but were able to eliminate them with no losses. Otherwise, the trip was rather dull. Omicron Delta reminded King quite a lot of the other Edge World systems; dark, dangerous, and rough. When they reached the jump hole, they found two Nomad Weapon Platforms on either side of it. "Sigma group, attack the left one; Beta, let's take the right." The platforms packed a punch, taking out three fighters before being destroyed themselves. With nothing left to hinder them, they entered the jump hole.

* * *

**Unknown System:**

To say that a Nomad buildup was occurring in this system just didn't quite convey the truthfulness of the statement. Dozens of interceptors, five gunboats, and a type of cruiser King had never encountered before waited for them on the other side of the jump hole. One of the Liberty Gunboats was destroyed almost immediately. Response time on the part of the Liberty ships was, fortunately, quick. Although the Nomads had a numerical and technological advantage, as well has having surprised them, King still felt confident. "All ships, attack at will," he ordered.

The cruiser proved to be more show than threat, and was dispatched quickly by _Ticonderoga_. The remaining gunboat, along with parts of Sigma squadron, ganged up on one of the Nomad Gunboats, while the rest of Sigma had split up the remaining gunboats amongst themselves. Beta squadron, meanwhile, was focusing on the interceptors, a task that _Ticonderoga_ quickly switched to. Within minutes, the allied task force was cut by a quarter, but the Nomad task force was in full retreat. King knew, however, that it was far from over; they still had to reach Nevada, on the other side of the system, and they had plenty of Nomad encounters before then.

* * *

**Chugoku System, Kusari Space:**

The Orrids attacked in one giant wave. Nearly thirty ships swarmed towards Kyoto and the awaiting fleet. Ten Dragons had reinforced the defending side, making the battle between fighters almost even.

_"Stay sharp! Keep them from getting to Kyoto at all costs,"_ ordered Orillion.

Trent went in blazing, but his shields failed him quickly. He applied shield batteries but didn't let up the assault, knowing that he could get more shield batteries after the battle. Ships from both sides were dropping like flies. In addition, the capital ships were getting pounded – _Vermont_ was on the brink of destruction.

_"Get clear_ Vermont_,"_ said Captain Holmes. _"You can't do any more."_

The Orrids, apparently deciding that they'd had enough of Kyoto, pulled back towards the Tohoku jump hole. Trent swore. "All fighters, intercept those ships."  
_"Belay that,"_ ordered Holmes. _"All fighters, head to Tohoku to rearm and repair; we'll hold the fighters back until you're able to adequately defend Tohoku."_ Trent sighed but acknowledged the orders and set course for the Tohoku jump hole.

* * *

**Unknown System:**

The system was more desolate than King had hoped; beyond their welcoming committee, they had only encountered a few stray interceptors. As they approached Nevada, however, he found that the Nomads still weren't going to make this easy. The Nomad ships that had survived the initial attack were present, attacking Nevada, along with three additional gunboats, four cruisers, and a very heavily damaged Nomad Battleship. The only allies that Nevada had to offer were three Liberators and one Anubis, and even as he watched, one Liberator fell to the battleship's guns.

"All units, pick your targets and go." King chose one of the two remaining gunboats as his target. He let loose a large volley of firepower and the ship replied in kind. One of King's wings was blasted off along with its Vengeance. The gunboat, unfortunately for it, had been severely damaged beforehand and was unable to withstand the assault. King then chose to back up the Nevada fighters attacking the battleship, now reduced a single Liberator. The _Ticonderoga_ joined the battle, firing her forward guns in anger towards the battleship. Already severely damaged, the ship exploded before King could even reach it.

_Union_, the remaining Liberty Gunboat, teamed up with King and the remaining Liberators as they closed in on one of the cruisers. Sigma was attacking the second, _Ticonderoga_ and Beta were attacking the third, and the fourth had already been dispatched by Nevada. All but two interceptors were down, and Nevada's failing guns were keeping them away from the main battle. The third cruiser went out quickly, but took several of Beta squadron with it. The remaining fighters turned towards the interceptors, while _Ticonderoga_ moved to assist Sigma.

King strafed his cruiser to avoid its fire, and unleashed his remaining weapons on it. He fired a Cannonball for good measure, while _Union_ used its heavy weapons to draw its fire. After only a few minutes, and two more passes, the cruiser died, at the cost of the remaining Nevada Liberator. The final cruiser exploded almost in unison, pacifying the area around Nevada.

"Good work people. Nevada, what's the status?"

_"There were quite a few Nomad ships, but most of them left via a jump hole a few hours ago. Our comm. system was down, so we couldn't call for reinforcements. You guys got here just in time."_

The Nomads had retreated. That meant that this was a ruse, likely to draw resources away from the battle in Chugoku that had begun shortly after he'd left. He swore, knowing he couldn't make it in time to make a difference, and ordered the remaining ships back to Kansas.

* * *

**Tohoku System, Kusari Space:**

This was a battle that had to be won. Trent had stocked up on supplies at Ryuku before heading out to space. Ryuku had launched all two of its squadrons to assist. _Essex_ and _Osiris_ were waiting just outside of the Nampo Cloud, waiting for the Orrids, while _Vermont_ was anchored next to Ryuku, making repairs while under the protection of the base and its weapon platforms. Trent and his fighters reached the position of the two battleships in less than five minutes, finding the battle already joined. The two capital ships had positioned themselves to where it would be difficult to avoid Heaven's Gate on the way to the Ozu Anomaly. Trent cracked a small smile in remembrance of its namesake. The Blood Dragon ships joined up with the other fighters in taking on what was left of the Orrid squadron.

Trent targeted one particularly damaged Orrid ship and let him have it. The ship was surprisingly resilient, however, and survived the assault. Trent had to dodge out of the way of its return fire, and he still lost shields to a few stray hits. He applied some shield batteries and brought his ship around. The fighter was coming at him in a chicken maneuver, Trent noticed, and held his hand over a particular button. At the last moment, Trent jerked down and pressed the button, releasing a Cutter mine. It plowed into the Orrid ship and exploded, taking the fighter with it.

Seven Orrid ships remained, and Trent noticed that two had broken through the blockade. He went after them, hoping to intercept them before they could reach the Ozu Anomaly. After only two minutes of pursuit, though, Trent gave up and headed back towards the main battle. He saw another Orrid ship coming straight at him, and laid into him. The Orrid had obviously been heavily damaged, as he barely stood up to one volley before exploding. Once he returned to the fleet, he found that all of the Orrid ships had been destroyed.

"Good work, all of you," he said. "Now, let's get the hell out of here before a Kusari fleet shows up."


	11. Chapter 11

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 11**

**Freeport 12, Florida System:**

"Well, at least we all made it out alive," said Trent.

"For the most part," said King, rubbing his back.

"You two did," said Director Lane solemnly, "but we lost a lot of good people today. And a lot of ships." He paused. "On a good note, the two Orrid fighters that slipped through the blockade were destroyed by Heaven's Gate." He turned back to address the LSF members in general. "I've ordered the _Vermont_ to repair at Sarasota Shipyard, in order to make room for any other ships to dock in the Freeport 12 shipyard. I've also moved the _Rio Grande_ to Sarasota." He paused again, looking around the room. "So far, we have made only one offensive, and that was disastrous. We need allies, and I have two in mind." He walked over to the viewscreen and turned it on. It showed an analysis of the strengths of various factions. "One ally we need that we don't have is the Gas Miners Guild. Agent King, after you get back from the mission I'm about to give you, you'll take _Osiris_ to Zonell in the Alpha-39 system. I'll be joining you in an attempt to sway the GMG to our side."

"Understood, sir. What mission am I about to go on?"

"The other ally we need is the Hajarran Union."

"The who?" Trent asked in confusion.

"Besides humans," explained Lane, "the Hajarrans are the only space faring, sentient race in Sirius. They've existed far longer than we have, and their technology is far in advance of our own. We need their support, but it won't be easy to get it. Agent King, Mr. Trent, and Mr. Tobias, take the _Essex_ to Bradford Station in Zeta-73. From there, you can meet with the Hajarran delegation. Good luck, men."

* * *

**Bradford Station, Zeta-73 System:**

"Why is it that I've never heard of the Hajarrans?" asked Trent.

"Bowex has kept a tight lid on their existence," replied King. "Hajarra is on the Numbaria Pass, which is probably the most desolate part of Sirius. The only people who are on the Pass are Bowex, the GMG, Bounty Hunters, and Orbital Spa, and the last two are only on the last part. So really, the GMG and Bowex are the only ones who know of them."

"Then why does the LSF know?"

King grinned. "We make it our business to know things."

An Agent turned to King. "Sir, the Hajarran delegation has arrived." King stood up and nodded.

"Good. Let's get this show on the road."

A few minutes later several Hajarrans entered the meeting room. Trent had no idea what to expect from a Hajarran in regards to appearance, but discovered that they were an insectoid, six-legged race whose tan skin seemed somewhat rubbery. Each leg had three toes, two in front separated by sixty degrees and one pointed directly behind the leg. Their two arms ended in hands with three fingers and an opposable thumb. They stood at about one meter in height and had a very angular head.

King strode forward and shook the hand of the head representative. "I'm Michael King, Liberty Security Force."

The Hajarran nodded. "I am Leevana Graatho of the Senate of Hajarra," the representative said in a refined but very unusual accent. It sounded almost mechanical in its inflection. "The Senate have reviewed the proposal sent by you, and have come to a conclusion. We are sorry, but we are unable to assist you. We are not interested in colony affairs. The last time we got involved with such matters, many of the people of Hajarra died. We are not prepared to do so again."

"However, some of the people of Hajarra have shown an interest in battles that belong to you," said one of Leevana's aides. "While they are not sanctioned by the government of Hajarra, they will assist you if you require. The ships that belong to them are traveling to here, and will be here soon."

"We believe that this answers the questions asked by you," said Leevana, "and we will now depart back to Hajarra. We wish you pleasant travels." With that, the three Hajarrans exited the bar. The LSF delegation followed suit as they headed towards the _Essex_.

"Is it just me," said Trent, "or do they speak really oddly?"

"No," said King, "they do. From what I understand, their language doesn't have possessive pronouns, so I doubt they know how to use them properly. You can't really expect a race that we encountered less than fifty years ago to have perfect English, can you?"

"I suppose not," replied Trent as they entered the _Essex_.

"Come, Trent," Tobias said from the doorway. "The bartender, a robot though he may be, makes an _excellent_ Sidewinder Fang. I think that you should – Trent?" However, Trent was already walking into the bar.

* * *

**Planet Zonell, Alpha-39 System:**

Trent had, of course, heard of Zonell. One of the stranger oddities of Sirius, Zonell was the only known gas giant that was livable. Sky City, a massive, floating array of mining centers, habitat towers, and landing pads, flew about seventy-eight kilometers beneath the upper cloud layer. Owned by the Gas Mining Guild, many companies had some presence on Zonell, and Marrik Science, a Hispania-based science company, studied the planet in great detail. Hideo Ito, the head of the facility on Zonell, was currently in a meeting with King and Director Lane, leaving Trent and Tobias alone. While Trent was firmly camped in the bar, Tobias had gone out to take a look at the not-so-new Starblazer. Trent was drinking a Heaven's Gate, which, while not horrible, was nothing to write home about either.

"Mr. Trent?" came a voice behind him.

Trent whipped around, caught by surprise at the unfamiliar voice. A Hispanic man was standing behind him, unarmed. The man was staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

"We meet at last, Mr. Trent," he said calmly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am José Márquez. Perhaps you have heard of me."

Trent rolled around the name in his head, then recalled what the leader of Nome Base had told him. "You're the leader of the Orrids," he said cautiously. His hand started reaching for his gun.

"I have several people that are training weapons on you as we speak, so I would suggest that you stop reaching for your weapon," he said in a voice like he was discussing the weather. "In answer to your observation, yes, I am the leader of the Orrids. I've dealt with Mrs. Bane. She will not reveal my identity to anyone else."

"What do you want?" asked Trent stiffly.

"I had some business here on Zonell I needed to attend to," replied Márquez, "but when I saw you here in the bar, I decided to give you a friendly warning. Stay away from Orrid business. Thus far, you've escaped death from us, but only because we weren't actively setting out to kill you. Continue to interfere with our business, and that will change." Without any warning, he punched Trent, cracking his jaw. _Damn, the man can throw a punch._ "That was for killing Juan and Julio Perez. I take the death of my men _very_ seriously." With that, Márquez walked towards the exit, but just before he left he turned and said, "Don't think you can stop us, either. We have abilities far beyond your imagination. Good day, Mr. Trent."

Trent started massaging his jaw. _That was random. Why do they want me to stay away? Are they afraid I'm close to finding something, or do they just think I'm that dangerous?_ He looked at the bartender, who hadn't batted an eye throughout the entire exchange. A few minutes later, Tobias walked in, beaming.

"Trent, you won't believe what I just –" Tobias started, but stopped when he saw Trent. "What happened to you?"

"I tripped," Trent replied, hoping to blow it off. "What did you find?"

"Never you mind, you need to see a doctor. Come, I know of just the person to see."

Nearly two hours later, Trent had had his jawbone mended, and pain-killers to help dull the ache he felt. Tobias clearly didn't believe Trent's 'tripping' excuse, but had given up trying to press the issue. The two returned to the bar to find King and Lane sitting at a table looking somewhat glum.

"Well, they won't help us," said Lane as Trent and Tobias joined them. "It turns out they like neutrality as much as Hispania. This whole adventure was a waste –"

_"Director Lane, we have information."_

Lane, startled by his com's activation, spoke into it. "Go ahead."

_"Sir, we've located Agent Zane."_

* * *

**Battleship **_**Osiris**_**, Alpha-39 System:**

"She's located near the black hole in this system," said the comm. officer when they entered the bridge. Orillion joined them as they walked to the comm. station. "The interference is probably what caused us not to locate her before. However, I don't think we can reach her."

"Why not?" asked Lane.

"Neither the _Osiris_ nor any other Liberty ship was designed to withstand the incredible amounts of radiation found as close to the black hole as Juni is," explained Orillion.

"You're right," said Trent, "Liberty ships aren't designed to withstand heavy radiation, but Bretonian ships are."

"He's right. We could use the _Essex_," suggested King. "It would be able to get through that radiation."

"Call up the _Essex_," ordered Lane as he turned to the viewscreen.

Within minutes, Captain Holmes had appeared onscreen. _"This is the _Essex_."_

"Captain, how long until you can reach our position?" asked Lane.

_"Fortunately, we've docked at Southampton Shipyard; all we need do is move through Edinburgh to reach you. I would say two hours."_

"Do so. We have a situation that requires your presence."

_"Understood. _Essex_ out."_

* * *

**Battleship **_**Essex**_**, Alpha-39 System:**

"If our experiences say anything," Tobias was saying to the assembled group of LSF pilots, "it's likely Agent Zane appeared close to an Orrid base. If so, she may have been captured or killed. At any rate, those poxy Liberty ships of yours won't get us through the radiation field, so we're going to have to use Bretonian fighters, in addition to the _Essex_. Now, flying a Bretonian fighter is a lot different from flying those Liberty ships you normally use, so listen up. The first thing to know about flying a Bretonian ship is –" It was about at this point that Trent completely lost interest in what Tobias was saying, and he headed for the bar. He ordered his favorite drink, sat down, and started flipping through the mission intel. _Tobias was right about one thing: the bartender makes a very fine Sidewinder Fang._ He was going through information about the black hole's radiation field and its effects on living tissue when he was interrupted.

"Mr. Trent?" Captain Holmes had materialized next to Trent.

"Yes?" Trent was startled by his failure to notice her.

"Please, follow me."

Trent followed the good captain, wondering what the hell was going on. They reached a hanger door, one that had been locked when Trent had last been aboard.

"How do you like that Crusader we gave you?" Holmes asked.

"I like it," replied Trent, who was no less confused. "Why?"

"What I'm about to tell you cannot leave us. For the past three years, Bretonia has been working on a new fighter, one on par with Liberty's Liberator and Hispania's Marqués. The prototype was loaded onto _Essex_ a month ago." With that, she entered a command into the panel beside the door. It obediently opened up, revealing a hanger with the single ugliest ship Trent had laid eyes on. It looked rather much like a fish had mated with a bird. "The Bretonian Paladin Very Heavy Fighter." She turned to Trent. "We'd like you to have it, in the capacity of a test pilot."

"Me?" Trent asked incredulously. "I'm not even in the military. What about a military test –"

"Your record during the Nomad Incident speaks for itself," replied Holmes. "We'll transfer all of your equipment to the Paladin, and take care of anything else you may require."

"Well, when you put it that way," Trent said, "sure, why not."

"Good. We'll start transferring your equipment immediately."

As Holmes walked out of the hanger, Trent walked around his new ship. "Ugly little bastard, aren't you." Trent grinned. "I can tell we're going to get along just fine."

* * *

**São Paulo Base, Alpha-39 System:**

"We have an incoming vessel on approach," said one of the officers to Miguel Dominquez, the leader of the Orrid base São Paulo, "approximately twenty thousand kilometers away."

"What type of vessel is it?" asked Dominquez. He was quite interested in what was being thrown their way; no ship that he knew of could withstand the radiation, except…

"A Bretonian Battleship, sir," replied the officer. "I believe the _Essex_."

"They'll be able to reach us, then. Battle posts everyone."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Essex**_**, Alpha-39 System:**

"What are you smiling at?" asked Tobias as they walked to the docking bay.

"I can't say," replied Trent. Noticing the skeptical look on Tobias' face, he added, "I'm serious. It's classified."

"Humph." Tobias decided not to press the issue. "You're as stubborn as your father, Ed."

_"All pilots, man your fighters. We are approaching the event horizon."_

"Well," said Trent, "that's our cue."

"Let's try not to get killed out there," said Tobias. "I want to see you and that girl get married. Vanessa wasn't it?"

Trent sighed. "I haven't talked to her in three months," he said. "Probably should try to get a hold of her soon."

"Well, at any rate, you're far too young to die."

They reached the docking bay to find King kicking his Crusader, uttering some rather virulent profanities.

"What's wrong, King?" asked Trent.

"I can't get the damn thing to turn on," he grumbled.

Tobias and Trent just stared at him for the better part of a minute. Finally, Tobias shook his head and said, "You didn't listen to a word I said at the briefing, did you?"

"No," he mumbled, "I thought I knew enough being around Trent for as long as I have."

"I clearly said 'all of the ships will already be active for you.' That ship is _already_ turned on, you pillock."

King just stared at Tobias for a few seconds before speaking. "Oh. Well, uh, I'm going to go ahead and, uh, launch, then," King said, then climbed into his ship.

Tobias just turned to Trent and let out a large belly laugh. "See you in space, friend," he said, as he climbed into his own Crusader.

Trent headed towards the restricted docking bay, entered the code Holmes had given him, and climbed into the Paladin. He checked the systems and found them to be running normally. The control panel was very similar to that of a Crusader. All of his weapons had been loaded onto the Paladin, and, satisfied with his new ship, he launched from the _Essex_.


	12. Chapter 12

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringment is intended._

**Chapter 12**

**Alpha-39 System, Fringe Worlds:**

Trent launched from the hanger of the _Essex_. The event horizon of the black hole wasn't too far off, and a large asteroid in orbit of it had been carved into a base. A wall of Sabres separated _Essex_ and her fighters from the base. Trent pulled his ship so that it was facing the black hole and fell into formation with the rest of his squadron.

_"Whoa, what kind of ship is _that_?"_ asked King.

"It's the new Bretonia VHF," replied Trent. "The Paladin. I'm set to go when you are."

The Orrid ships numbered forty. Several Orrid fighters ignored the Bretonian fighters and headed straight for the _Essex_ while the rest moved to engage the fighters at point blank range.

_"Knight squadron, go after those fighters,"_ ordered King. _"Bishop and Rook squadrons, get on the tails of the other Orrid ships. Queen squadron, attack that base. Doovas squadron, scout the area for a modified Defender."_ Doovas was the Hajarran squadron, whose Valees-class fighters were also resilient to the radiation. Doovas was composed of four fighters, while each of the other squadrons was split up into seven fighters. King operated independently from _Essex_'s gunboat, bringing the total allied forces to twenty-seven Crusaders, four Valeeses, one Paladin, and one Bretonian Gunboat.

Trent, who was Queen-One, closed in on what his targeting computer called São Paulo. Having equipped his ship with a Starkiller, he launched two torpedoes at the base while the rest of his squadron followed suit. They impacted and buried deep into the rock before exploding. Unfortunately, the thick rock prevented any major damage on the first salvo. Orrid fighters had broken off of the main group and were nearly on top of Queen squadron. "Queens, pick your targets and go," ordered Trent, "but make a general movement to set up another pass."

Trent pulled up hard and port, catching a Sabre in his sights. He opened with his quad Dissolvers, twin Furys, and Skyblast B turret. It took only a few seconds for his opponent's shields to disintegrate, though his own shields had fallen as well under the powerful onslaught of Orrid graviton weapons. A well placed Cutter mine finished off his foe in short order, however, and Trent found himself lined up for another torpedo run at São Paulo. This time his Starkiller struck true, the explosion causing one of the docking bays to be forced open. "Break off the attack and go after the fighters," he ordered the rest of Queen. "I'm going in to locate Agent Zane." Trent made it into the docking bay before the forcefield kicked in, stopping the outflow of atmosphere.

* * *

**São Paulo Base, Alpha-39 System:**

Trent pulled out his gun as he stepped out of his ship. He was met by two Orrid guards. Trent ducked behind the Paladin, avoiding their shots, and crept around to the other side. He was able to take one of the guards by surprise, but the other had been prepared for him. Trent got off two shots, taking down one guard with one, and going wide with the other. He retreated again, and saw a door a few meters away, behind the standing guard. He got down on all fours and fired from underneath the ship, hitting the guard in the foot. Not taking the time to finish him off, he ran through the door.

The corridor he'd entered was empty, although Trent didn't expect it to remain that way for long. He also had no idea where the prison ward was. _I'm not even sure she's on the base._ Pushing on to his right, he found a deserted hanger a few dozen meters along the way. In it were several ships, among them Juni's Defender. "King, Juni is aboard São Paulo," said Trent into his comm.

_"Understood,"_ was King's reply. _"I'll redeploy Doovas."_

Trent walked back into the corridor, finding it had been filled during his absence. Three men were waiting for him, forcing Trent back into the hanger. He locked the door, hoping to hold them off for a few seconds, and looked around to find anything useful. He saw a computer consol nearby, and he ran over to it. He searched the database and found location of the prison just as the door was forced open. Trent ran for cover behind the Defender. He waited until he heard one of the men changing power packs, then ran around and shot him. He dove behind a crate, picking up the hostile's gun in the process, and popped up firing both guns. Both men went down, better than Trent had hoped for, and he ran out into the corridor.

He rushed his way to the prison sector, reaching it in three minutes. He set the acquired gun to overload and threw it into a cluster of guards that were guarding the door. They got off several shots, one hitting Trent in the shoulder, before the gun exploded. The way cleared, Trent entered the prison to find several dozen prisoners inside.

"Trent!" came a familiar voice.

Trent turned and saw Juni several cells down. "Where are the keys?" he asked.

"That guard should have them," she said, indicating a guard killed by the explosion. Trent picked up the key card and swept it through the computer, unlocking the cell doors. The prisoners ran out, and Trent busied himself arming them.

Juni picked up one of the guns and checked its settings. Satisfied, she turned to Trent and said, "You cam back. What changed your mind about –"

"Nothing. I meant every word I said. We need to hurry."

The travel back to the hangers was uneventful, but once they reached the ships, they found several Orrids waiting for them. Fortunately, the Orrids were outnumbered and were dealt with quickly. "All right," said Trent, "everyone, choose a ship. Juni, your Defender is in the adjoining hanger." Trent walked over to the Orrid he'd injured earlier. "You have two choices," he told the guard. "Either I kill you now, or you put on a flight suit and get in my cargo hold. Your choice."

Within two minutes, Trent took off out of the hanger, one prisoner heavier.

* * *

**Alpha-39 System, Fringe Worlds:**

"King, I've rescued Juni," said Trent, blasting out of the base. Most of the Orrid fighters were fleeing into jump holes, as were several shuttles that had launched from the base.

_"Excellent,"_ said King. _"All ships, dock with _Essex_, and let's get the hell out of here."_

* * *

**Battleship **_**Osiris**_**, Alpha-39 System:**

"Juni," said Orillion, "it's good to see you again." Juni and Director Lane had just exited the conference room, where Juni had debriefed him on her ordeal with the Orrids. "Have the medics cleared you?"

"Of course," she replied.

Orillion turned to Director Lane. "Are we heading back to Florida?"

"Yes," said Lane, "our work here is finished." Lane nodded, dismissing Juni.

Juni, Trent, King, and Tobias headed for the _Osiris_ bar. Juni was in the middle of detailing her experience when she bumped into someone in the corridor.

"What the hell?" Juni exclaimed when she saw just _what_ she'd bumped into. A meter tall insectoid had lost its balance and fallen to the floor.

"I am sorry for the intrusion," it said. "It was my fault for not looking." The creature righted itself and walked off.

"What the _hell_ was that?" inquired Juni, who Treat realized had never seen one of the aliens.

"That would be a Hajarran," replied King. "A few of them decided to help us."

"That one didn't seem to talk as oddly as the others," noted Trent.

"It _has_ been around us for several days now. Perhaps it's picking up our possessive pronouns." King smiled. "I can't say I'm surprised. Our language is addictive."

The quartet walked into the bar, where several Bretonian, LSF, Order, and Hajarran pilots were conversing. They walked up to the bar and ordered their drinks.

"We were able to capture five Orrid ships," said King, taking a seat. "Order technicians are going over them now. One of the ships was equipped with a single graviton weapon, which is being analyzed. We're also beginning to interrogate the Orrid you captured, Trent. Nice job on that, by the way."

"Perhaps I should interrogate him," said Tobias jokingly. "After all, I am the most personable person on the ship."

Juni laughed but nearly fell over as she sat down. She quickly righted herself. "Damn," she said, shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" asked King.

"Radiation sickness," Juni replied. "That rock was thick enough to stop any radiation, but I was out there in my Defender for several hours before I was captured. The medics have given me some treatments, but I think they're screwing up my sense of balance."

"At least all you had to defend against were the Orrids," said Tobias, resulting in puzzled looks from both Trent and Juni. "We had encounters against both Nomads _and_ Rheinland. And we saw Von Claussen."

Juni turned to Trent, a fresh wave of nausea making her regret it almost immediately, but she still managed to say, "See, I told you he was alive."

"I never said he wasn't," Trent retorted. He turned to Tobias. "You need to tell me _that_ story, though."

"All in good time, my friend."

"Any word from the fleet in Alaska?" asked Juni, turning back to King.

King looked at her. "No, they're _slightly_ cut off from us at the moment."

"Haven't you tried using the TCG?"

King stared at Juni for several seconds, then slapped his forehead. "Of course," he said, "why didn't we think of that? I'll take that to Lane immediately." King walked out of the bar, leaving Juni, Trent, and Tobias alone. Trent gave a puzzled look.

"I'll tell you later," said Juni, in response to Trent's unasked question.

"Could I interrupt for a moment?" said a voice behind them. One of the Hajarran pilots was standing next to them.

"Sure," said Trent, struggling to remember a name. "You're Alaak Greenta, correct?"

"Yes," it said. "I am the leader of the Hajarran ships helping you."

"How did you know that was him? Er, I mean, it?" whispered Juni.

"If I may," said Alaak, "we do have genders, and use the rough human pronouns of him and her."

"Oh," said Juni. "I didn't know that. Just out of curiosity, which are you?"

The creature seemed to grin. "I am a male. Our females are generally taller than males. Also, Mr. Trent likely knew me because he had to learn all of our names. Your Director Lane thought it proper, but it was unnecessary."

"So, how can we help you?" asked Juni as she sipped her water.

"I noticed the weapon used by these Orrids is unlike most of the other human weapons that I've encountered," he explained. "I was wondering if you would allow my people to examine it."

"I'll talk to the Director," said Juni, "but it shouldn't be a problem."

Almost on cue, the communication device in the bar came on, asking for Juni. Trent and Tobias followed her over to the consol. On it, an Order technician was in a lab.

"This is Agent Zane, go ahead."

_"We've finished our analysis of the Orrid weapon systems, and they are quite unusual. Some of these compounds I've never seen before. I'd like to cross-reference them with a larger database. Could you clear that with Director Lane?"_

Trent and Juni looked at each other, then slowly back at Alaak.

"Weird," mumbled Juni.

* * *

**Battleship **_**Rio Grande**_**, Sarasota Shipyard, Florida System:**

"Director, I'd like to bring a request straight from the labs."

"Go ahead," said Lane.

"Sir, they've been unable to identify the graviton weapon or its source," said Juni. "They want access to a larger database in order to determine its composition."

"The Order's database is the most comprehensive database there is," Lane said. "What more could they want?"

"You're right," acknowledged Juni, "the Order's database is the most comprehensive _human_ database."

"They want access to the Hajarran databases," Lane said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, sir. They've been around Sirius for thousands of years longer than humans, and have thoroughly mapped out the sector, its contents, and its history."

"Understood," said Lane, "I'll try to contact Hajarra and set up such an access. How is the transmitter going?"

"Well. We should be able to talk anywhere in Sirius in about thirty-six hours."

"Let me know when it's ready. In the meantime, head to Planet Orlando. Some Galactic representatives would like to discuss helping us."

* * *

**Planet Orlando, Florida System:**

Orlando was a very comfortable world, at least considering that it had been uninhabitable less than a decade ago. Even though it was in the early stages of terraforming, huge amounts of trapped, compressed oxygen under its surface had accelerated the process by two hundred years. Planetform believed that less than a quarter of this oxygen had been released, and said that Orlando might be ready to colonize before 900 AS. Even now, rain poured from the sky in sheets.

In the bar, Juni was meeting with Galactic Shipping representative James Black. Galactic was a very young shipping company that had started on Orlando bringing terraforming supplies in 804 AS. They had grown rapidly and had nearly finished the construction of Pensacola Station in orbit. Tobias and Trent were drinking at the bar on the other side of the room from Juni.

"I got in contact with Vanessa this morning," said Trent.

"Well? How is she?"

"Oh, she's fine," said Trent. "She's heading off to the Omega region, something about Sprague. Frankly, I've never been interested in archaeology, but she says that there's some new evidence of an ancient civilization on Sprague, so she's really excited."

"Humph. She's going half-cocked on some wild journey like you did," said Tobias.

"It's her _job_ to do that," protested Trent. "And besides, it turned out well for me. So, what's this about encountering Von Claussen?"

Tobias launched into storytelling mode, describing as only he could the battle against the Nomads. Trent hung on to every word like a schoolchild being read a book. "And Von Claussen showed up with a few dozen Bundschuh and blew the ship to High Heaven." With the finishing of his tale, Tobias downed the rest of his poor imitation of Spiced Rum. "Truthfully, it's the closest to death I've ever been. If it hadn't been for that Rheinlander, why I wouldn't be here speaking to you, I'm sure of it."

"A Nomad Superweapon," said Trent thoughtfully. "You mean the one from the Order legend?"

"One and the same," said Tobias, nodding. "Orillion even advised us that it could destroy the whole system if we weren't careful."

"Huh."

"Trent, Tobias, we need to leave."

Trent turned to see Juni. She appeared very agitated. "What?"

"We need to head back to the _Rio Grande_. The Director has called an emergency session. He said something major has happened."

Trent turned to Tobias. "What is it now?" he wondered aloud.


	13. Chapter 13

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 13**

**Battleship **_**Rio Grande**_**, Sarasota Shipyard, Florida System:**

Director Lane looked slowly around the room with a look more somber than any other time anyone had seen. He took a deep breath and began. "Perhaps the single most important event in recent Sirius history occurred three hours ago.

"As you know, Rheinland and Kusari were at war with each other over mutually claimed territory. Three hours ago, that war ended." Lane looked around, almost as if he were trying to find a way to say what he needed to. He apparently decided to go with the blunt truth. "During the March of Victory, a ceremony celebrating the anniversary of the rise of the Samura government, Shogun Edo was assassinated by a Rheinland agent."

There were several gasps around the room. The Kusari Shogun held the ultimate position of power in the Kusari government for life. They were revered by the Kusari people with a nearly holy fervor, and Edo in particular had been one of the most Shoguns popular in history.

"Less than three minutes later," continued Lane, "a Rheinland fleet, consisting of forty gunboats, five cruisers, and the Battleships _Westfalen_ and _Bismarck_, entered orbit of New Tokyo, encountering little resistance due to the shock of the publicized event. The broken Kusari government surrendered unconditionally. As of now, there is no House Kusari; it has been annexed into Rheinland.

"One hour ago, another, smaller Rheinland fleet moved in and attacked New Madrid, which has naturally incited a war between Rheinland and Hispania. During the attack, Premier Enrique Sánchez was abducted by Rheinland agents. With Edo dead and Jacobi imprisoned in Alaska, the only legitimate heads of state that have are left in power are Queen Carina and Chancellor Kästner. As of now, no hostilities between Rheinland and Bretonia have occurred."

"I doubt that there will be," said Trent quietly. "Bretonia has never involved itself in politics outside of talking, and Rheinland probably considers them no threat." He laughed bitterly. "And they're right." While Trent hated what Juni had said earlier, it couldn't be denied that her words had a modicum of truth to them.

"The Blood Dragons have had to flee Chugoku, as the Rheinland patrols found Kyoto." Lane snorted. "It took Rheinland one hour to find what Kusari has looked for for three centuries. The Blood Dragons have fallen back to Tohoku, which as of now is the only system still under the control of Kusari forces."

"What do we do about helping Kusari?" asked Juni.

"What _can_ we do?" replied Lane. He sighed in frustration. "What this means for us is that we can no longer rely on the Blood Dragons for help, nor any type of help from Kusari. In addition, Hispania is on the defensive, and thus would not be able to provide us with assistance if we requested it. Our list of potential allies is growing shorter by the day." There was a beeping on Lane's belt. "Go ahead," he said into his com.

_"Director, you wished to be informed when we'd finished the communication dish."_ This was the voice of Jimmie Ray, the head administrator of Freeport 12. _"Well, it's finished."_

"Thank you." Lane turned off his com and spoke to everyone else. "I need to get back to Freeport 12 and find out what's going on in Alaska. In the meantime, I want all of you working on finding Premier Sánchez. If we can return him to power, the chances of Hispania being able and willing to assist us are greatly increased. You're dismissed."

* * *

**Freeport 12, Florida System:**

"Can we transmit through the New York relay?" asked Lane.

Juni turned to him after a minute. "I think so. It's not encoded, so we shouldn't have any troubles."

"Will somebody please tell me what we're doing?" asked Trent, who spoke for those in the dark.

Juni sighed. "A few years ago," she explained, "we found a way to use tachyons, particles that travel faster than light, to communicate over a long distance. We set up relays in all of the capital systems, as well as four others spread around the Fringe Worlds. The main array, from which the signals are sent to and transmitted from, is the McKinley Array in Alaska. We hope to use McKinley to contact the forces trapped there."

"We're ready," said King. He pressed a few buttons, and the group sat and waited. After about three minutes, Captain Charles Wester appeared.

_"Director Lane, it's good to see you," _he said. _"We'd completely forgotten about McKinley."_

"Don't worry, so did we," assured Lane. "What's your status?"

_"I must say, without the _Enterprise_, we wouldn't be having this conversation. The Orrids hit us pretty hard. The _Liberator_ was significantly damaged, enough that we had to abandon her. The _Mississippi_'s position is unknown; it's possible she was captured or perhaps even destroyed. Juneau, and _Liberty_ herself, were heavily damaged by the attack, and we're currently proceeding with repairs."_

"What about the _Enterprise_?" asked Lane. "You said she was responsible for your survival."

_"Her crew was able to bring her weapons online temporarily, and they took the Orrids by surprise. The repairs didn't last long, and she is again without power, but she was undamaged by the attack."_

"Have you recovered Jacobi?"

_"No. We still haven't verified that she was ever aboard Mitchell. If she was, it's possible she was abducted or killed by the Orrids during the attack on Mitchell."_

"Damn," said Lane. "How about Elaine Gomez? Was he recovered?"

_"No, we believe he was killed in the attack. Mitchell itself was all but destroyed."_

"How about the gate? Do you think you can repair it?"

Wester shook his head. _"There's no way we can fix it on this end – we don't have the necessary parts. We're stuck here until who knows when."_

"Do you have _any_ good news?"

_"I'm afraid not. We're still repairing _Liberty_, and as I said, _Enterprise_ still can't move. They're working on trying to get the _Constitution_ ready as soon as possible, but that still means another six to eight months. And we have no way of getting out of Alaska, anyway. We're pretty much helpless here, sir."_

"Understood. If you need to contact us, you know how. Freeport 12 out." Lane turned to the assembly. "Well, that certainly good have gone better," he said wryly as he rubbed his temples. "We need to try to find the jump hole generator. If we could find and control it, maybe we could –" Lane was interrupted when a small light appeared on the screen. He pressed the receive button on the consol. The Hajarran representative, Leevana Graatho, appeared onscreen.

_"We have reviewed the information that belongs to you, and we have deemed it acceptable that you bring the weapon here for further study."_

"Understood. Director Lane out." He turned to King. "Take the _Rio Grande_ to Hajarra."

"Sir –"

"I know she isn't fully repaired, but right now we can't spare _Essex_ or _Osiris_. I doubt you'll be in a combat situation anyway. I'll have the weapon transferred to the _Rio Grande_."

King nodded. "Very well, sir. Trent, Juni, Tobias, you're with me."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Rio Grande**_**, Zeta-73 System:**

Trent was with Alaak in the docking bay as the ship neared Hajarra, looking at his ship up close. It was quite beautiful, an odd fusion of organic and mechanic technology that somehow reminded Trent of Kusari ships. Trent was walking alongside the ship when he noticed the weapons for the first time. It took a moment to recognize them, but when he did his jaw dropped.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, turning to Alaak.

"The weapons? Yes, those aren't entirely our design. We got them from an alien race."

"Yeah, I know. The Nomads." Trent looked at them again. "We've encountered them before. We didn't know you had."

"Oh, yes," said Alaak. "They saved us."

Trent didn't think he could have been more surprised when he'd seen the Nomad weaponry, but he proved himself wrong when he heard Alaak's response. "What?"

"Yes. In fact, we know them as The Guardians because of what they did for us. Have you ever heard of the Val'Kan Empire?"

"Yes," said Trent, still quite bewildered, "but I don't know much about them."

"They were a ruthless race, who often engaged in long civil wars until they turned their aggression outwards. They controlled Sirius for over 10,000 of your years. About 8,000 years ago, they attempted to bring Hajarra under their rule. A Guardian fleet came in and completely destroyed them. They left some of their weapons behind, and we used them to defeat the Empire."

"Then why did they attack _us_?" asked Trent. "They aren't sentient."

"That is where your people are wrong. While it is true that they don't have a social structure, they are capable of distinguishing friend and foe and of making decisions and alliances. The race that made them, the Dom'Kavash, left them behind to guard Sirius from the Val'Kan Empire along with any other threat to Sirius. Apparently, they consider you a threat."

"Huh," said Trent after a moment. "I never considered that. I just were hostile to all life."

They went to the bar, where Trent finally saw Hajarra. It looked beautiful from up close. The planet was covered in mostly oceans, with a few island continents dotting the water, and the rings around the planet were breathtaking. Nearby, Jodaav, Hajarra's sole moon, seemed to drift lazily around the planet. Very similar to its parent, Jodaav was nevertheless cloudless and, from what Trent had been told, lifeless.

"It's beautiful," whispered Trent in awe.

"Isn't it? We should probably head to the docking bay."

Within minutes, Trent, Juni, Tobias, Alaak, and King stood in the main docking bay of _Rio Grande_, where an oddly crafted ship, similar to Alaak's but larger, was sitting. The Hajarran transport had docked less than fifteen minutes ago, and they were loading the weapon aboard.

"Here we are," said Alaak as he walked aboard the strange craft. "We'll be going to Ura Taal, the capital of Hajarra."

* * *

**Planet Hajarra, Zeta-73 System:**

The view of Hajarra from space didn't even compare to what it looked like on the surface. The first thing Trent noticed upon stepping out of the transport was the coolness of the air; around 57 degrees Fahrenheit. It was also very clean – a stark contrast to the air Trent had grew up with on Leeds – suggesting a lack of industry. He appeared to be on top of a mountain range, where the sprawling city that lay before him had been built. The valley below was filled with forests that stretched to the horizon. Hajarra's rings swept across the northern sky like a bridge.

"Your capital is built on a mountain?" asked Juni.

"Our entire race lives in the mountains," explained Alaak. "The predators in the valleys are too strong for us to overcome, so we try to avoid them whenever possible."

The humans had been given lodgings for their stay on Hajarra. Trent and Tobias were led into a room in a large building. The room had a unique setting, apparently not designed for humanoid occupation. However, beds, chairs, and other human necessities had been put in for there use, and the air had been pressurized to human standards. Rather than stay in the room, however, the two decided to explore the city a bit. The architecture was unique to say the least. While humans generally built around the geometric shape of a square, Hajarrans used mainly pentagons in their building structure. The humans had to bend down slightly to enter the low doorways, though the interiors were generally suited to human height. None of the Hajarran civilians seemed to bat an eye at the humanoid intruders; they simply went about their day. Within a few hours, the thinner air got to the humans, and they decided to retire to their rooms.

"Look, a bar," Tobias said gleefully as he entered. He went over and opened the door, pulling out several drinks. "Sidewinder Fang, looks bad though; Liberty Ale, decent; Bretonian Spiced Rum; Kusari Light, never had that; I've never seen this before." He handed a bottle to Trent, while pouring a glass of Kusari Light. "You know what that is?"

Trent looked at the label. It was completely unreadable, with curving shapes that could be words or symbols. "Not a clue. Probably Hajarran."

Tobias downed his glass, paused for a second, then started a coughing fit. "Bollocks, that's bad! Kusari can't make a drink for the life of them." Tossing the rest of the drink into the sink, Tobias took the maybe-Hajarran drink from Trent and poured two glasses. "Here's to good drinks," he said, handing Trent a glass. They both downed their drinks, and Trent coughed.

"Wow," he said, still trying to swallow the drink. To call it strong just didn't do it justice.

"Wow is right," Tobias said. "_This_ is the good stuff."

"So, what do you think this'll turn up?" asked Trent.

"Well, if we find out how the Orrids made this kind of weapon, it may help us counter it." Tobias took another drink. "It may also help us find and destroy that bloody jump hole generator, though that's probably over-optimism on my part."

A knocking came at the door. Alaak entered, and looked at Trent and Tobias. "We think we have something," he said.

Trent and Tobias followed Alaak, and they were joined quickly by King and Juni. They entered the room where the weapon was being held, and sat down beside it. Leevana Graatho was also present as the official adjunct between humans and Hajarrans. The Hajarran scientists walked over from a computer consol. One of them, Haaj, spoke to the group. "When you brought the weapon to us, you said that you did not believe that humans could make graviton weapons. You were correct."

"You mean this _isn't_ a graviton weapon?" asked Juni.

"No, it is a graviton weapon. It is _not_ one of humans, however. It is one of Val'Ka."

It was harder to judge who was more surprised; the LSF or the Hajarran senator. Juni, however, was the first to speak.

"I thought the Empire was destroyed 8,000 years ago."

"It was," explained Haaj. "However, many scientists have been of the belief that some ships of Val'Ka decided to escape from the Great Battle, rather than be destroyed. This is the first definitive proof that we have ever had, as these seem more advanced than the weapons we faced at the Great Battle."

"The government of Hajarra has always been… reluctant to state the possibility of surviving Val'Kan," said Leevana. "We were of the belief that all ships of Val'Ka were destroyed. It would now appear that the belief belonging to us was not correct."

"Indeed so," said Haaj. "I also am of the belief that it is quite possible that the artificial jump hole technology is also of Val'Ka origin, and that the Orrids received both from the same place. It is most likely that the Val'Ka built the generator in order to attempt to retake the Empire, but for some reason, they did not succeed."

"I didn't think the Val'Kan _had_ the technology to create artificial jump holes," said Tobias.

"We were of that belief as well, as we do not possess that technology, nor did the Val'Kan use it against us in the War. It is likely they developed it after the loss belonging to them at the Great Battle."

"And now their technology has come back to haunt us," said Juni, more to herself. "We should get this information to the Director as soon as possible." She turned to Haaj. "Have you been able to repair the weapon?"

"No, as to the extent of the abilities belonging to us, I believe that the weapon is not broken, merely not finished. We need an assembled weapon, and as I doubt that the Orrids will grant us one, we must go to the source. We could retrieve one from the Val'Ka system, or as you know it, the Alpha-75 system."

"All right," said Juni, "you can come with me on the _Rio Grande_, and we'll pick it up. King, I want you to come with me. Trent and Tobias, stay here, and try to keep out of trouble. We'll be back in a few days."

"Right," said King sarcastically. "If it goes that well, I may dance a jig."


	14. Chapter 14

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 14**

**Planet Hajarra, Zeta-73 System:**

"You seem to have taken an interest in Vaast," noted Alaak.

"So that's what this is called?" Trent asked, holding a bottle of the drink. "We thought that this was Hajarran, but we weren't sure."

"It's quite popular here," said Alaak. "I personally don't like it; it is quite too strong for my liking. I have grown fond of your Sidewinder Fang, however."

"Ed here loves that drink," said Tobias, setting down his glass. He studied his now empty glass and nodded. "I think that this might do well as an export."

"Interesting," Alaak said thoughtfully. He then formed his mouth into what Trent suspected to be the Hajarran equivalent of a smile. "Perhaps humans and Hajarrans can co-exist better than our current relationship allows. Although personally, I find your ships a bit warm."

There was a beeping sound, and a Hajarran voice came over the comm. line. _"There is a message for Agent King. As he is unavailable, I am directing the message to the quarters of Mr. Trent."_ After the line closed, Trent walked over to the consol and opened communications.

_"Trent,"_ said Lane, _"I need to talk with King."_

"He's not here right now. Please leave a message after –"

_"Where is he?"_ demanded Lane impatiently.

"Off looking for a graviton weapon. Can I help you?"

Lane sighed. _"Very well. A development has occurred."_

"What else is new?" quipped Tobias.

_"A Rheinland ship is on its way to Bretonia,"_ said Lane, ignoring Tobias. _"They'll be there in less than an hour."_

"Rheinland and Bretonia are at war?" asked Trent.

_"No,"_ said Lane, _"Rheinland is simply putting a ship there to coordinate any attacks from southern Sirius. Still, I don't think I need to tell you what this means."_

"If Rheinland and Bretonia go to war," Trent said, "they'll already have a foothold in Bretonia."

Something made Lane look off to the side, and he quickly turned back. _"Queen Carina is contacting me, and as citizens of Bretonia, I'd like you to join in."_

Trent and Tobias looked at each other. Neither of them had even been in the presence of the Queen before, much less talked to her. "Okay," said Trent.

The screen cut in half, with the current monarch of Bretonia coming into view on the left. _"Your Majesty,"_ Lane said, slightly bowing. Trent and Tobias followed suit. _"You are also speaking with Richard Tobias and Edison Trent."_

_"Director Lane, Mr. Tobias, Mr. Trent. You wished to discuss the impending Rheinland vessel?"_

_"Yes. The LSF believes that having a Rheinland ship in Bretonia is not a good idea. I humbly request you to turn back the ship in order to ensure peace."_

_"Peace?"_ Carina said. _"How would turning away a Rheinland ship, with force if necessary, bring about peace? It would most likely have the opposite effect, starting a war between us, and I am not willing to do that. Furthermore, Rheinland is not our enemy."_

_"They won't remain neutral, Your Majesty. They ignored their treaty with Kusari and attacked and conquered it without provocation. Hispania has also not provoked them, and yet they are at war as we speak. They _will_ betray you."_

"Your Majesty, I must concur with Director Lane," said Trent. The Queen looked at Trent expectantly. "We believe that a criminal faction, the Orrids, are in control of the Rheinland government, and toppling Bretonia is in their best interests. The likelihood of them leaving Bretonia in peace is much less than the likelihood of attacking it."

_"Perhaps, but what if you're wrong, and the Rheinland government is in fact under their own control? It is possible that Kusari and Hispania have caused them grievance, and their attack may be warranted, if a bit extreme. What if their offer of a ship to help protect our space is a genuine effort at peace? Denying it would be a slap in the face, and may cause the loss of many Bretonian lives."_

_"But what if we're right?"_ asked Lane.

_"In that case, we will defend ourselves. As it stands, I will not turn back the ship. I wish you all well on your endeavors."_ The screen then cut back to just Lane, who simply sighed.

_"I can't say that I expected anything else, but that did not go well."_

"Indeed," said Trent. "Look, we need to get going; we have a few things to do."

_"Very well. Pass along this information to _Rio Grande_ as soon as possible. Freeport 12, out."_ With that, the line was cut.

"Trent," said Tobias, "what exactly do we have to do?"

"Oh, I'm sure we can think of something."

"I can think of one," Alaak said, coming back into the room. Trent hadn't even noticed his absence. "An Orrid task force is approaching Hajarra, and they've attacked a Hajarran patrol."

* * *

**Zeta-73 System, Fringe Worlds:**

Trent launched in his Paladin followed quickly by Tobias' Hawk and Doovas squadron. The Orrids weren't in sight yet, but Trent had seen the contacts, and he knew that they were in for a fight. He set a course for the far side of the system, near Bradford Station. Several other Hajarran ships joined them as they went. After twenty minutes, Trent saw things go from bad to worse; a Nomad Battleship was waiting for them with several interceptors buzzing about. Trent swore, picked the nearest interceptor, and headed for it with weapons active.

_"Mr. Trent, what are you doing?" _asked Alaak hastily. _"The Guardians are our _allies_."_

"They may not consider you a threat, but they consider us one. They won't attack you –"

_"Nor will they attack you. We have an agreement with them; they will not fire on _any_ ships in this system unless the ships are attacking us or them. Stand down."_

Trent broke off and headed back for the rest of the ships. _This is _not_ a good idea._ Shortly thereafter, Trent saw the Orrid ships, who were quickly engaged by the Nomads. Trent picked a nearby Orrid ship and laid into him. These ships seemed to go down quicker, either because of decreased pilot skill or the fact that Trent had more powerful weapons in his arsenal. An Orrid ship materialized behind him, and Trent's shields went completely out. The ship exploded quite suddenly, and Trent saw an interceptor fly past. _Great, saved by Nomads. Never would have expected _that_._

Trent targeted the closest Orrid ship and fired. He hadn't realized the Paladin's true power until his foe's shields collapsed in under a second. Another interceptor blasted it apart, and Trent just barely stopped his reflexive urge to blast the interceptor. He targeted another Orrid ship, but it was destroyed before it even came into view by yet another interceptor.

The battle continued on like that for several minutes, with several Bowex Eagles reinforcing from Bradford, but it was the Nomads who were dominating the battle. The Orrids seemed to realize that, at least in this system, their greatest asset had turned into their greatest liability; several jump holes opened and the Orrid ships disappeared. With that crisis over, Trent turned to the Nomad ships and waited hesitantly, fully expecting to be attacked despite Alaak's warnings. After a few seconds of staring each other in the eye, however, the Nomad ships broke off and cloaked. Trent chuckled and shook his head. He had just fought _alongside_ the Nomads. He had truly seen everything.

* * *

**Planet Hajarra, Zeta-73 System:**

"I can conclusively confirm that the Orrid weapon is based on a design more advanced than the one the Val'Kan fielded at the Great Battle," said Haaj. The _Rio Grande_ had arrived in system an hour ago and the Hajarran scientist had just finished his examination. "There is also not an ability to defend against this weapon any more than the shields belonging to you allow."

_"Understood,"_ said Lane over comm. _"Thank you for your assistance."_

Haaj nodded and moved off, leaving the usual quartet facing Lane. "Sir," said Juni, "what are our orders?"

_"Pack up your things and head back here. I'll inform you if anything changes. Freeport 12, out."_

Trent and Tobias went to their rooms to pack their things. Tobias picked up the bottle of Vaast. "Do you think they'd mind if I took this?" he asked.

"Probably not," said Trent. "You know, fighting alongside the Nomads was an interesting experience. They're actually pretty good allies."

Tobias laughed. "Too true. They saved me several times during the battle. I'm starting to wonder if I need to upgrade to a Falcon."

"And lose all the tinkering you've done to your Hawk?" said Trent with a sly grin. "Somehow, I doubt you'll do that. By the way, have you seen my neural net interface?"

"Over on the bed. You're probably right. I've modified my Hawk so much it basically _is_ a Falcon, just with better maneuverability. Have you talked to Vanessa lately?"

"Not since last time we talked about it. I can't get a hold of Sprague."

Tobias put the bottle in his bag, before zipping it up. "Well, I'm certain that an opportunity will present itself. Let's head out, my friend."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Rio Grande**_**, Alpha-81 System:**

"Actually, the trip wasn't all that exciting," said Juni. "We didn't encounter any resistance, and we found a weapon quickly. That debris field, though, is something you have to see to believe. The same with Val'Ka."

"Yeah," said King, "it almost made _me_ interested in history. Almost."

The group was sitting in the observation deck of the _Rio Grande_, which was a misnomer; it was actually a single room on Deck 2. Outside, the purple nebula called the Loaad Dol was swirling by, leaving Trent in awe.

"I've never seen the Great Battlefield myself," said Alaak, "but I would tend to agree with Juni."

"Started calling me that, eh?" Juni teased. The communication panel started beeping, and Juni activated it. "Director Lane. What can I do for you?"

_"You remember that ship Rheinland sent?"_ asked Lane rhetorically. _"It was the partially finished Battleship _Tirpitz_. Several destroyers and the _Norfolk_ were there to great them. After about two hours, the Bretonian fleet opened fire on the _Tirpitz_."_ Several hushed silences fell over the room.

"Has Rheinland declared war on Bretonia?" asked Trent.

_"I can hardly believe it myself,"_ said Lane, reading off of a computer consol, _"but two minutes ago, _Bretonia_ declared war. I contacted you as soon as I got that info."_

"They've never done that before," noted Juni, who was, like everyone, quite surprised at this turn of events. "Declared war, I mean. This could be helpful."

_"The _Essex_ has been recalled to Bretonia, leaving us with one less defensive vessel, so try to get back here as soon as you complete your new assignment. This new threat might keep both the Rheinland government and the Orrids too busy to deal with us. This also gives us a chance to do something about the Alaska problem. I want you to go to the Alpha-39 system, and see if you can find anything on São Paulo that could help us create a jump hole. It is possible, even probable, that the Val'Kan made mobile generators, in case the main one was destroyed. With São Paulo being the most remote and protected of the known Orrid bases, if there are any, some are likely to be there. If they are, secure them, and bring them back to Freeport 12. Good luck, men."_

* * *

**São Paulo Base, Alpha-39 System:**

The base had been quite heavily damaged in the attack, and appeared abandoned. Still, Trent kept his weapon at the ready, just in case. They had cleared two levels without any luck, and the _Rio Grande_ had retreated to a safe distance from the radiation. Trent, who led four other men in Delta team, was now checking one of the cargo bays with the rest of his team.

"Clear," said the primary tactical officer, Brown. Trent moved in, and found the bay mostly empty, with only a few boxes on the other side. Trent motioned two men to check them, two to guard the door, and Trent himself moved towards a consol. It, like all the others they'd encountered, was off-line. The station was running on minimal power, with emergency lights being the sole indicator of a functional generator.

"There's nothing in these boxes," said one of the men. The other replied the same.

"All right," Trent said, "let's move on to the next cargo bay."

They moved on towards the next bay about fifty meters away. His comm. unit beeped, and he heard some frantic noises from it. _"This is Omega team; we have encountered hostiles. Five men were hiding in cargo containers. Kelsey's down, two more wounded, and we're falling back to the rally point. All units, proceed with caution."_

"You heard them," said Trent, "keep an eye peeled." _I knew this wasn't going to be simple. It never is._

_"Trent," _said Juni over comm._ "We've found what could be a mobile generator. Level Five, Cargo Bay F. Try checking nearby ones."_

"Juni, we're still working on Level Three. We can't get there in fewer than five minutes."

_"Epsilon One here,"_ said Tobias. _"We're nearby. I'll take care of it."_

"Sir, we have possible hostiles," said Brown, looking at his IR scanner. "Suggest we move in with _extreme_ caution."

"Do it," Trent replied. He took up position on the left side of the door to the cargo bay. Brown nodded to one of the soldiers, who opened the door. As soon as it started sliding, shots came from inside the bay. It was too dark inside to get a clear shot, so Trent aimed for where the shots were coming from. He didn't hear any contacts, so he ducked back into cover. Brown pointed off to either side and made a sliding motion, indicating the presence of two other doors. Trent pointed two to one door and one to the other, leaving Brown and Trent at this door.

When his comm. unit vibrated, indicating they were in position, he sent a signal to do the same to their units. Both doors opened up, lighting the interior and flanking the enemies. Trent noted that one of the soldiers' shots had connected, as one hostile was down. They reacted quickly, turning towards the open doors, but two of the remaining five were quickly killed, and Trent took the opportunity to fire at one of the remaining three. This time, he didn't miss, and the rest of the team downed the other two.

After five minutes of searching, they found what was defiantly alien and probably a jump hole generator inside an empty cargo container. He activated his comm. "We've found another one, and we're moving it back to the rally point. We ran into a few contacts, they're probably only in areas where there are generators." They headed for the rally point, a docking bay with the Paladin, three Crusaders, and a Bretonian Gunboat. Juni, King, and their respective teams were already there, along with Gamma team, all of whom had located a generator. "Where's Omega and Epsilon?"

"We don't know," said Juni. "Omega, Epsilon, what's your twenty?" she asked into her comm.

_"We're about three minutes out,"_ said Tobias._ "We found one of the generators and have it in tow."_

_"We're about five minutes out,"_ said Omega Leader. _"We have two wounded and two DOAs. I'm afraid we didn't locate any generators."_

They were able to leave as soon as they arrived, suffering only two deaths and six injuries. They also gained five generators. With their prize in tow, they headed for the _Rio Grande_.


	15. Chapter 15

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 15**

**Battleship **_**Osiris**_**, Florida System:**

"Trent," said Orillion, "welcome back. The Director has asked me to tell you to go to the bar. You'll be briefed there about a mission to take care of the Alaska situation."

Trent walked to the bar alone, which felt somewhat odd, and found several men there. One of them, however, singled Trent out. The man was about 50 years old, with slightly graying hair. His uniform was unlike anything Trent had ever seen. Trent remembered him from earlier staff meetings, but couldn't place his name.

"Mr. Trent?" the man asked.

"That would be me," Trent replied.

"I am Atticus Rockford." Trent's jaw dropped several inches at that statement. "I can see you've heard of me."

"You're born on Earth, and came from the Sol System," he said in surprise. "You started The Order."

"Well, I'd have to disagree on the first statement, as well as the last," he said, smiling. "I was actually born on Pluto, and Orillion _did_ start The Order." He motioned Trent to sit as he did so himself. "You could get a drink, if you'd like." Trent went over and got a Sidewinder Fang and then sat across from Rockford.

"So, what's your story?"

Rockford grinned. "Oh, I love telling this. I left Sol about five thousand years ago, putting myself in hypersleep. My ship must have been damaged because, although I left only a century after the sleeper ships, I arrived at Sirius almost eight hundred years after they did.

"Orillion was a captain in the Navy at the time, commanding a cruiser called the _Justice_. He's the one who found me, on a patrol in the Sigma sector. I spoke to him and his crew about what had happened in the battle over Pluto, and how an alien race had wiped our home system out of existence. Most of the crew, as well as Alexander Hanson, who was the President of Liberty at the time, refused to believe me about the Nomad threat, doubting that any alien race could destroy an entire solar system. Orillion, however, _did_ believe me. He defied orders and set course for an energy signature that matched what little I'd seen of the superweapon in Sol. We tracked it to an out-of-the-way system, the one with the original Toledo, and were able to destroy it, though only by ramming it with the _Justice_'s sister ship with a payload of gravimetric mines. I think that's where Walker got the idea with the _Intrepid_ back when you were rescuing Jacobi, actually.

"Even after this, though, Hanson refused to believe the Nomad threat. Because of this, Orillion put the _Justice_ in for repairs at Juneau Shipyard in order to initiate a plan he'd come up with. You see, we'd recovered a cloaking device from the superweapon's remains, and Orillion smuggled it onto a pet project Juneau was working on at the time: the _Osiris_. He took command from the skeleton engineering crew, cloaked the ship, and made off with it to combat the Nomads. That's how The Order came to be."

Trent just sat there, absorbing the information. "Interesting. Does this help us with Alaska?"  
"No, so I'll get to the point," he said. "As you may know, warp technology is _very_ expensive, difficult to maintain, and less efficient than jump gates. The last time a warp drive was used in Sirius was 600 years ago, when jump gate technology became widespread. As far as I know, you don't even have the designs for them anymore, as they were considered redundant. The Alliance, however, never gained jump gate technology, as we were in the middle of a war we were losing. Thus, the only way we could traverse interstellar distances was by using warp drives."

It suddenly clicked in Trent's head. "Your ship had warp capability."

"It _has_ warp capability. It's sitting in an unused docking bay here on _Osiris_."

"You're going to use it to get to Alaska," Trent stated.

"Well actually, _we_ are going to do that," Rockford corrected. "I'd like someone who knows the area to come with me."

"Why don't we just use the mobile generators? Surely they'd –"

"LSF technicians have found a flaw with the generators: they use so much power that they burn themselves out after one use. One of the generators you recovered had already been used, so we only have four available, and since there's an alternative, it seems wasteful to use one of them. We're taking two of the generators to Alaska, one to bring back any ships we can and the other in case of any emergency that may pop up."

"When do we leave?" asked Trent.

"In a few hours. They need to prepare my ship; it hasn't been used in two decades, after all. I'm also waiting on someone else."

Juni, King, and Tobias entered the bar. Trent made introductions, and the trio was quite surprised to meet Rockford. He retold the story of The Order, and then went off on a tangent. "I've actually been quite busy these past few years in Sirius. For example, I – no, that gives away the game, and that's no fun. Here's a hint: my great-grandmother was named Erika Gómez." Trent rolled that bit of information around in his head, but came up with nothing. Juni, however, quickly realized what he was getting at.

"Erika Gómez? That's a _Hispanic_ name. There were reports that an 'unknown hero' was responsible for uniting the Outcasts and Corsairs. An _Order_ hero. It was you, wasn't it?"

Rockford smiled and nodded. "I felt that I owed it to her, because she was actually aboard _Hispania_, so these were quite likely her descendents that I was helping. I was able to prove that the sabotage on the _Hispania_ was caused by a Coalition spy, not by the other ships, nor by those aboard _Hispania_ herself. They realized that their need for revenge on Sirius was gone, and I mediated talks between them." He took a drink from his glass. "Of course I'm simplifying matters greatly, there was still the hostility built up from years of criminal activities, the Outcasts' drug addiction, the Corsairs' famine issues, and so on and so forth. It took six years to get them to even seriously consider reconciliation and legitimization. Still, it got done."

_"Mr. Rockford, the Ageira Technologies agent has arrived. Where should I send him?"_

"Tell him to meet me in the bar."

_"Right away."_

"Why is an Ageira worker here?" asked Trent.

"He'll try to repair the Alaska gate. He's traveling with Trent and I aboard my ship."

A few minutes later a familiar voice spoke. "Trent, good to see you again." Trent turned and saw Alexander Baylar, the man who'd worked with them at the beginning of this mess. "Ms. Zane." He turned to Rockford. "I was told that a jump gate had malfunctioned, which is odd considering there's no news bulletin on it."

"It's the Alaska gate," said Juni.

"Ah." Baylar seemed to understand the lack of news at the mention of the secret system. "What exactly is the situation?"

"It was catastrophically damaged an Orrid attack. They're loading up the gate parts necessary to repair in onto my ship now," said Rockford. "We should be able to leave in two hours."

"Actually," said a technician, who'd just entered the bar, "your ship was in far better shape than we'd expected. You can leave as soon as you're ready."

"Excellent," said Rockford with a bit of surprise, "Mr. Trent, Mr. Baylar, please follow me. Let's not waste time."

"We can get to Alaska without a jump gate?" asked Baylar confusedly.

"Long story," replied Trent as they exited the bar. They went into a section of the ship Trent hadn't been in before. Rockford opened up a hanger door, where a ship laid waiting. It was long and egged shaped with several wings coming off of it; it looked very much like a scaled down sleeper ship. They climbed into the cockpit, which had a layout unlike any ship Trent had seen before. There were three seats, a small unit that Trent assumed was the hypersleep chamber, and very little else. Trent and Baylar sat behind Rockford, who sat in the pilot's chair. It was cramped, but the fact that it could hold three people made it larger than most cockpits.

"All right," Rockford said, "let's roll."

* * *

**Deep Space:**

Traveling at warp was quite different from using a jump gate or a jump hole. The only things visible were dust particle that were stretched into lines by their great speed, while the rest of space was black. Not even the nebulae appeared. They had been moving for twelve hours, talking about many various topics.

"I heard once that there were actually _eight_ sleeper ships, and that they were all launched from Pluto," said Baylar. "Is that true? 'Cause that goes against what we were taught in school."

"It's both correct and incorrect," said Rockford. "There _were_ eight sleeper ships, but they weren't built together. The _Rheinland_, the _Bretonia_, the _Liberty_, the _Hispania_, and the _Kusari_ were all launched from Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. We lost Europa only a month after they were launched." He paused, remembering what that time had been like. After a few moments he continued. "For the next century, we held on to the outer systems, but we knew the end was near. The French and Italian fleets had been destroyed at the very beginning of the war, but there were still civilians from both nations, and so a ship was built for each. Also, a ship was built to evacuate the rest of the civilians. The _Marseillaise_, the _Belpaese_, and the _Unity_ were launched from Pluto, ironically, only _hours_ before the Nomads entered the system. The _Unity_ was destroyed by the Coalition fleet." Rockford turned somber at this. "I was part of the _Unity_'s escort. I got distracted by a Coalition fighter for a few moments, and when I turned back, the _Unity_ was gone. I'd just gotten back to Pluto afterward when the Nomads came." He sighed and shook his head. "The _Marseillaise_ and the _Belpaese_ made it through the blockade, though. I don't know why they didn't make it to Sirius; perhaps they were destroyed en route. I can't fathom how someone here would know about them. It was probably just a drunken guess that happened to be partly correct."

Again, Trent sat back and absorbed this information. The view out into space changed quite suddenly; the blackness of space gave way to a green hue. They'd entered the Denali Nebula.

"This is where things get tricky," Rockford said. "Hitting one of those asteroids at warp speed will ruin our trip pretty quick. I need my full attention on piloting, so a bit of silence from the peanut gallery would be nice."

* * *

**Alaska System, Liberty Space:**

"Wow," was all Trent had to say when he saw Mitchell. Or rather, what had once been Mitchell. The prison had been completely destroyed, a debris field the only indication that anything had been here in the first place. The _Liberator_ was hanging dead in space near the debris field. "Freeport 7 looked better than this."

Rockford set a course for Juneau and they arrived in minutes. The shipyard had fared better, but not by much. One of its docking complexes was sheared in half, two of the shipyards had been blown off the station and were floating a few kilometers away, and the rest of the station showed multiple hull breaches. The _Liberty_ was nestled in one of the shipyards, while the _Enterprise_ was right where it had been. Worst hit, however, was the jump gate. One of its "prongs" had been completely blown off, and the outer ring had been disrupted.

"Damn, that's not goanna be easy to fix," bemoaned Baylar.

_"General Rockford, good to see you. You're clear to dock in any of the holes you see or, if you wish, a docking bay."_

* * *

**Battleship **_**Liberty**_**, Juneau Shipyard, Alaska System:**

Trent greeted Captain Wester, and inquired as to Commander Lock's condition.

"He was gravely injured in the attack, and he's still recovering. You must be the Ageira representative. Is the jump gate beyond hope?"

"Not to burst your bubble, but, yeah, pretty much. It'll take at _least_ a month to fix, if it can be fixed at all, and I doubt I can work _that_ fast. Unless… Can you lend me some men?"

"Sure," said Wester, "just tell them where to plug things in and they'll assist you."

"Captain," said Rockford, "did the Director mention the generators?"

"Yes," replied Wester. "We've unloaded one to Juneau, and the other to _Liberty_. Don't get me wrong, Alaska is beautiful, but I'll be glad to get out of here. Do you know how it works?"

"No," said Rockford. "If we could see your transceiver…"

Wester pointed them to a makeshift array that had been built, where he called Freeport 12. He was then redirected to Hajarra, where a third generator was being studied. Haaj, the lead scientist liaison, answered and walked through how he thought the device would work, uploading several programs to further help Trent.

"We'll pull _Liberty_ and _Liberator_ through," said Wester.

"I thought you abandoned _Liberator_," said Trent.

"We did, but I sent a skeleton repair crew to work on its engines. It can move, but bringing it to Juneau wouldn't have affected its repairing much, so we left it where it is. We should make the hole close to the remains of Mitchell." He turned to Rockford. "Your fighter has already been moved to the _Liberty_, so unless there's anything else, we're ready to go.

Rockford nodded. "All right, then. Let's go."

* * *

**Battleship **_**Liberty**_**, Alaska System:**

"Sir, we are nearing the position of the _Liberator_."

"Full stop. Contact the _Liberator_ and tell them to move to these coordinates."

After several minutes, everything was prepared. Trent and Rockford were controlling the generator, which was obviously _not_ human-made. The text was illegible, but one of the programs the Hajarrans had provided was a Val'Ka-to-English translator which seemed to work perfectly. The coordinate system was highly complex, but Trent was relatively certain that he had chosen… well, the right system, at least. "All right, we're as ready as we'll ever be. Let's do this thing and hopefully go home." He pressed the activation button.

The device lit up and started streaming ghost-like particles in four 'arms'. From the viewport, he saw them rotating around a common center where he'd put in the input coordinates. Within a few seconds, a dark blue jump hole opened up. The ships entered it.

* * *

**Battleship **_**Liberty**_**, Sarasota Shipyard, Florida System:**

"Good work, Trent," said Juni. "You've proven how to work the generator, and brought back two ships for us. The _Liberator_ was transferred to Freeport 12 for repairs."

Trent was in the infirmary, getting treated for burns. While the device had worked, it was either built improperly or else Trent had done something wrong, as it had overloaded more than the scientists had predicted. The burns had caused his shoulder, which had been injured rescuing Juni, to ache more. Rockford had already been discharged, and Trent was about to be as well.

"What about the _Vermont_? Wasn't she docked here?"

"She's been moved to a makeshift shipyard connected to Pensacola Station over Orlando, in order to make room for _Liberty_. And the _Rio Grande_ is still docked in the other port."

The CMO of the _Liberty_ came over to the bed Trent laid on. "All right," he said, "you can leave if you wish. I'd like to see you in three days, though."

"Come on," said Juni. "We're late for a meeting."


	16. Chapter 16

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 16**

**Freeport 12, Florida System:**

"…Bretonia has already struck at several Rheinland outposts in Omega-7, and are currently enforcing a blockade of Stuttgart," Lane was saying. The meeting had already started, and Trent and Juni were quickly filled in by King as Lane spoke. "In addition, they have moved their fleet into the Harris system, where they are planning an assault to liberate Kusari.

"We are now devoting most of our resources to finding the main Orrid base. We are attempting to cross-reference _any_ known Orrid activity, no matter how insignificant, since the organization was founded. The search may take up to two weeks, and in the meantime, we are to continue to defend Florida and rout out Grimes' government.

"Unfortunately, I have reason to suspect that we have a mole. Therefore, I've called only my top agents into this meeting, and all information I am about to tell you is Code Red Classification." Code Red, the second highest, demanded that the information was kept on a strictly need-to-know basis. "My information comes from several irregularities in our communication grid. From this point on, all meetings will be held at CRC, and all agents are to report any unusual activity directly to me.

"Agent Zane, I'd like you to go to Pensacola Station and personally check on the _Vermont_. Agent King and Mr. Trent, I have an assignment for you, if you're up to it."

Trent looked around the room to see several eyes turned to him. He realized that he seemed like the most likely suspect for being a mole, and decided to break the ice with a little humor. Remembering a joke he'd made during the Nomad Incident, he said, "Sure, as long as I'm not shot at, knocked out, held at gunpoint, electrocuted, skewered alive by giant alien shape shifters, have to dive out windows, fight off spindly Nomad incubi, have to eject from my exploding ship, leave Liberty in a drunken rage, rescue prisoners from an enemy station, get punched in the face by the lead –"

"All right, we get the idea," said an exasperated Juni. "Just a simple yes or no answer."

"Yes," said Trent with a grin.

"All right, then," said Lane as he rolled his eyes. "We started cross-referencing sources nearly a week ago, and we may have found something already. Mr. Trent and Agent King, you'll be going to Aichi Station in Omicron Zeta. Kishiro Technologies is studying a jump hole that seems to appear and disappear randomly. Try to find out if they've encountered any Orrids recently. Agent Zane, if I may have a moment of your time? The rest of you are dismissed."

Trent and King went to the docking bay where their respective ships were docked. King seemed to have realized that others suspected Trent of spying.

"Don't let the others get to you; I'm sure its just natural suspicion. You're the only non-LSF member at the meeting, after all. Besides, they've never really worked alongside you."

"I know," said Trent, "and I'm not letting it get to me."

"So, what do you bet this turns up nothing?" asked King.

"I wouldn't. Have you noticed that we've always been right?"

"Yeah. Kinda weird. Anyway, this seems like a dead end to me. Still, let's keep our ears open."

Trent smirked. "I always do."

* * *

**Aichi Station, Omicron Zeta System:**

King had taken his ship into a nearby red cloud, leaving Trent to speak with the Kishiro reps. They had quite a bit to say.

"Yes, several Orrid ships appeared eighteen months ago, the last time the jump hole appeared."

"Let me guess," said Trent lightly, "you've found a pattern to the jump hole's appearance. _And_ its about to appear within the hour."

"Yes, we have found a pattern. And it is indeed about to appear. A fortunate and odd coincidence, no? However, it is not going to appear for three more weeks. If our model is correct, that is."

"Right. I'll tell the Director. Thanks for the help." Trent turned to walk away, and then remembered something. "There's a device, part of the Tachyon Communication Grid, which we'd like you to set up so you can talk to the Director. Here are the specs." Trent gave the specs to the man, and then walked back to his ship, where a makeshift TCG array had been set up. When he arrived in the docking bay, he noticed a Liberator nearby. King was getting out of it, and he looked quite happy.

"Nice ship, eh? There's an LSF base in the next system, and they had a few spare Liberators. I got one for Juni, too. Figured you didn't need one, since you have the Paladin. So, what did you find out?"

"The Orrids were here, all right. And the jump hole is supposed to reappear within the month. I was just about to call Lane with the info."

"All right, I'll get packed up, and then we can move out. I'm sure that something will develop en route to Florida."

* * *

**Freeport 12, Florida System:**

Contrary to what King had thought, nothing of any import occurred while they were moving into Florida. The _Liberty_ was almost fully repaired and had been moved back to its original location over Miami. In the bar of Freeport 12, Trent, Tobias, and Alaak were talking.

"So, Tobias, are you actually related to Trent?" asked Alaak.

"Distantly. My brother's wife is the sister of Ed's mother. When Paula and James died, I, as Ed's godfather, raised him. I never married, and he was the closest I've ever had to a son." Tobias grinned somewhat. "Because James was Libertonian, Ed's always had this annoying accent not common in Bretonians, even though he was raised on Leeds."

"Hey, it's not annoying," protested Trent. "Vanessa likes it." Trent turned to Alaak and asked, "Are you married? Kids?"

"No, to both," he replied. "Which is actually quite unusual for one my age."

"Which is?" inquired Tobias.

"Sixty-four of your years. If I were to be judged similarly to a human, I would be about 30 years old. Generally, by this time, most of my species have engaged in unions."

Trent picked up his Sidewinder Fang. It wasn't nearly as good here as it was on the _Essex_, but it was satisfactory. Alaak had the same drink, while Tobias had Spiced Ale. They recounted stories of their various histories; Trent found the Great Battle (known in the Val'Kan tongue as the "Gra'Ck He Goa'Thl", or roughly, "Battle of the Goa'Thl") very fascinating. "Nine _thousand_ ships destroyed?"

"Yes, and that doesn't include fighters. With those included, it was probably in the hundreds of thousands. The Val'Ka system is covered entirely by the debris of that battle. Somewhere in there is the Goa'Thl itself."

"The Goa'Thl?"

"The flagship of the Val'Kan fleet. It was a deadly warship over twelve times the size of a Guardian Battleship."

Trent coughed up a little of his drink. "That made it over 20 kilometers long! Were there a lot of ships that big?"

"No, it was by far the largest ship Sirius has ever seen, except for perhaps the Guardian Starbuster. The next largest, also Val'Kan, was about the same size of a Guardian Battleship. The Goa'Thl was also far and away the most powerful ship ever built in the sector; it took 200 ships to disable it. Antimatter explosions destroyed most of the ship, though fortunately not all of the antimatter was destroyed as it had enough to decimate half of the system. That's how we know its still there, somewhere, but we've never found it."

"Just how powerful was the Empire?" asked Trent.

"Before I can answer that question," began Alaak, "allow me to explain the history of Sirius as we know it. In the era of the Val'Kan Empire, there were five sentient, spacefaring races that originated in Sirius, although there were at least five other non-spacefaring races. The two most powerful were the Val'Kan and the Dom'Kavash. They warred with each other for two millennia until the Dom'Kavash homeworld was destroyed by its sun going supernova, leaving only a neutron star in the system you know as Omega-41. After that, the Dom'Kavash disappeared, leaving only The Guardians to protect the other races from the Val'Kan. The other three races were the Kaleri, the Borvi, and the Hajarrans.

"Kaler was a planet that the Val'Kan found difficult to control. Its terrain gave the Kaleri a distinct advantage in guerrilla warfare. Kaler was taken by the Val'Kan around 16,499 BS, but they always encountered heavy resistance from the planet, and every few years a rebel cell would somehow get control of a warship and wreck havoc until they were destroyed. In 7,971 BS, the Val'Kan developed a superweapon called the Grenk'Halan that was supposed to render Kaler uninhabitable by cracking its crust open like an eggshell. As it turned out, they grossly _under_estimated its power; it heated Kaler's core up to several billion degrees, enough for much of the core to begin fusion. With an iron-rich core, though… well, the planet essentially exploded in a miniature supernova. Fortunately, the power of the Grenk'Halan was so great that it blew itself apart when it fired. Still, only a few thousand Kaleri were left alive after the destruction of their homeworld.

"Borva was brought under Val'Kan rule in 12,610 BS. They ruled the planet with an iron fist for over three millennia until a revolutionary movement gained control of a battleship and forced the mik'ra to surrender. They started to build up a fleet and were rather evenly matched by 9,000 BS. They engaged in many long wars for the next several thousand years.

"The Val'Kan tried to bring Hajarra under their rule in 7,480 BS, but were thwarted by a Guardian fleet. We'd encountered the Borvi two decades earlier, but only after we were able to drive off the Val'Kan did they extend an offer of alliance to us. Over the next two decades, we systematically pushed the Val'Kan closer and closer to their homeworld, though they always sterilized subject worlds before retreating, until in 7,456 they were down to their home system. The next year, we engaged in the Great Battle, which as you can imagine, was probably the largest battle this sector has ever seen. It caused the destruction of the Val'Kan and Kaleri species and sowed mistrust between the Hajarrans and the Borvi, for they had had a hostile encounter with The Guardians before. A few decades later, however, their homeworld was devastated by a planetoid, leaving us Hajarrans quite alone in Sirius. Until a Bowex scout crashed on our homeworld, that is. Suffice it to say, the Empire had a _dramatic_ influence on the history of Sirius."

Both Tobias and Trent were shaking their heads in wonder by the end of Alaak's speech. "And to think," said Trent, "we were taught that the Battle of the Yanagi Nebula was the largest battle in Sirius history. It's like a firecracker next to the Battle of the Goa'Thl."

"Mr. Trent," said one of Lane's aids, "the Director has told me of a situation that you should be aware of. The Bretonia fleet in Harris has come under Rheinland attack."

The two Bretonians looked at each other with alarm. "What support is Director Lane sending?" asked Trent.

"The _Ticonderoga_ and the _Liberty_ are being prepped to leave immediately. Also, King will be leading the _Liberty_'s fighters."

"I'm going," Trent and Tobias said simultaneously. Alaak agreed as well, and the trio headed off for the docking bay at top speed.

* * *

**Harris System, Border Worlds:**

_"The fighting is occurring near Holman Outpost,"_ said King from the _Liberty_. _"All units, set a course for that location, and engage at maximum speed."_

_"Trent,"_ said Tobias, _"let's try not to get ourselves killed here. All of Bretonia is counting on our success; Florida aside, taking Harris would give them a clear shot at Leeds."_

"I know, Tobias; I'm not going to let that happen."

The fleet had to move slowly, as the _Liberty_ didn't handle asteroid fields very well. Trent ran several system checks to pass the time, and was able to find two minor problems in the engine matrix. Finally, after two hours of flying, Holman Outpost became visible.

To say a battle was occurring hardly did it justice. On the side of Bretonia, the Battleships _Essex_, _York_, and _Suffolk_, along with eighteen Bretonian destroyers and forty gunboats, were defending Holman. Rheinland had Battleships _Westfalen_ and _Bismarck_, along with thirteen cruisers and over sixty gunboats. The battle had been going on for almost twelve hours, by Trent's count, and ships littered the space around Holman. The battle seemed quite evenly matched with the arrival of _Liberty_ and _Ticonderoga_, and could easily swing into either side's favor. Knowing the stakes at hand, Trent angled his shields and flew into the fray.

* * *

_A/N: This chapter really ran shorter than I'd hoped it would. It would have done even more so without the description of Sirius' history; that was a trump card, and now that I've played it..._


	17. Chapter 17

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 17**

**Harris System, Border Worlds:**

A Valkyrie engaged Trent almost as soon as he entered the combat zone. Trent opened up with his Skyrails, but this particular Valkyrie was equipped with Firekiss Mark Is and Trent found himself facing heavy damage. He pulled off and headed for the _Bismarck_, using it to force the Valkyrie to stop firing for fear of hitting the Battleship. The _Bismarck_ couldn't hit Trent at this close distance, but Trent knew he'd have to pull up sooner or later and that he'd be a ripe target when he did so. Once his shields came back up, he pulled out.

Immediately, he was attacked by the Valkyrie, along with two of its friends. Knowing he couldn't take on all three at once, he played chicken with the leftmost one while weaving between the shots of the three fighters and the _Bismarck_. The left fighter broke off quickly, and Trent fired several blasts into him before pulling off himself. He repeated this tactic several times with the enemy ships; he was taking significant damage, especially from the _Bismarck_, but with the Paladin's stronger hull he was able to survive. The Firekiss Valkyrie, on the other hand, was eventually destroyed, and the other more reasonably armed fighters broke off.

Trent then focused his attention on several gunboats that were flying nearby, and noted that Tobias was on the tail of one. He joined Tobias, and fired several rounds into the hapless gunboat, which quickly fell. After it was destroyed, Trent and Tobias joined King against three cruisers that were blocking the tradelane to the Tau-29 gate. Trent switched to his Starkillers and fired three in quick succession at the group. One of the cruisers, already heavily damaged from the fighting, exploded, while the other two took moderate damage. Trent noticed that one appeared to be breaking off, with a very high power signature emanating from it.

_"All ships, break off and get as far away as you can!"_ commanded King. Trent quickly realized that the cruiser's fission reactor was overloading, which meant a _big_ explosion was imminent. Trent set cruise away from the cruiser, but it exploded before his engines were finished charging. The blast engulfed the remaining cruiser as well as several fighters from both side, while many of the remaining ships were thrown back towards the main part of the battle. It took a few seconds for Trent's maneuvering thrusters to kick in, but once he'd reoriented himself, he picked on a badly damaged gunboat that was attacking a Bretonian fighter. The kill was quite easy, but Trent noticed that his hull was starting to show signs of weakness. He turned towards the _Essex_ and docked.

* * *

**Battleship **_**Essex**_**, Harris System:**

Trent called in for repairs, as the repair team didn't seem too busy. While Trent was waiting for the repair team to finish work on the Paladin, he saw a news bulletin flashing across the screen.

_"–was arrested ten minutes ago. While Rheinland officials have not disclosed the reasons for the Chancellor Kästner's arrest, most analysts believe that it is because of his outspoken disagreement with the handling of the military in general, and the wars against the three houses in particular. He is currently being held in an unknown location with no obvious intent to charge him with a crime. We'll have more information as it arrives."_

"Sire, we've finished repairs," said the main mechanic. Trent nodded and climbed into his ship, wondering if the Chancellor's arrest would affect the battle.

* * *

**Harris System, Border Worlds:**

When Trent launched from the _Essex_, he found that the battle had progressed more to a standstill. While it seemed clear that Bretonia now had the numerical advantage, Rheinland had arrayed itself in a strong defensive formation blockading the tradelane to the Leeds gate. In effect, any fleet arriving from Tau-29 would put the Bretonian fleet in a classic stone-and-anvil position. By the same token, any fleet arriving from Leeds would do the same to the Rheinland fleet. However, Bretonian reinforcements were probably further away than Rheinland reinforcements, and thus Trent expected the worst. The news of Kästner's arrest was being announced amongst the fleets at the moment, and only a few skirmishes were being fought in between the arrayed fleets.

_"Pretty quiet, isn't it?"_ asked King. _"Right now, they have more fighters, but we have more capital ships. It's only a matter of time before the clash of the Titans happens. And I don't want to be around when that happens."_

"What do you suggest, King, that we pack up and leave?" asked Trent.

_"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. We can't do any more, and if we stay, there's a good chance we'll die. Harris is lost. We need to be able to defend Florida when an attack comes."_

"Go if you want, but I'm staying," said Trent. "I'm not gonna let them into Leeds if I can help it."

Trent turned and saw the Rheinland fleet advancing across the empty zone around Holman. He angled towards an approaching gunboat, and together with King destroyed it quickly. A cruiser appeared from nowhere and Trent had to pull hard up to avoid it. He found himself surrounded by three cruisers, who fortunately hadn't seemed to notice him yet. Thinking quickly, he darted towards one of them, weapons blazing. He caused some minor damage, but of more importance was the fact that he distracted the cruiser into firing on him. Some shots connected, but most of them went wild and hit the other cruisers. With his target causing more damage than Trent could have, he'd given himself an advantage.

When he saw a way out, he took it, knowing that the gunners would simply increase their accuracy if he continued his current tactic. He noticed the _Westfalen_ and the _Bismarck_ were alone near the tradelane, firing potshots at any ships that dared get too close, but every other Rheinland ship had advanced to the front. Trent turned around and picked the most heavily damaged cruiser of the three, and fired a Starkiller into it. Part of the ship broke off, but it remained mostly intact, and continued to fire on Trent. Retreating and targeting easier gunboats, he found himself heavily outnumbered.

"King, I could use some help over here."

_"Right, I see ya. Hang on, we have a few problems of our own. We'll be there in a few."_

Trent, who was facing six gunboats and twelve Valkyries, was dodging and weaving between shots. He managed to take down several fighters, but more came to take their place. King, along with twenty-four other fighters and a Bretonian gunboat, arrived about three minutes later, and the rest of the enemies were either quickly destroyed or retreated. It was obvious that the Liberty reinforcements were having an effect, but Rheinland seemed to have gained a slight upper hand. Something beeped on his consol, and Trent's worst fears were realized: a Rheinland reinforcement fleet, consisting of eight cruisers and twenty-four gunboats along with assorted fighters, was approaching from the Tau-29 jump gate. The Bretonian fleet was caught in between two fleets with no escape route.

Trent knew he had to open up the tradelane to the Leeds gate, and he swung towards the two battleships, while arming his Starkillers. He was about to launch them when, without warning, the _Westfalen_ opened fire on the _Bismarck_. "What the hell?" was Trent's only response. The _Bismarck_, obviously not expecting any resistance from its own side, was caught completely off guard. Several of her gun emplacements were blown off by the initial assault, while the rest quickly turned toward the ally-turned-enemy. Despite the fact that the _Westfalen_ was far older than the _Bismarck_, it had gained the upper hand quite easily. Trent took the distraction to fire on the _Bismarck_ without retaliation, and several dozen fighters were doing the same. The Bretonian fleet began moving towards the tradelane, having netted the strength of two battleships by the _Westfalen_'s mutiny.

The _Bismarck_, seeing the battle lost, pulled towards Tau-29. The remaining fleet drew after it, leaving a quite bewildered, but nevertheless relieved, Bretonian fleet.

* * *

**Outpost Holman, Harris System:**

Jürgen Koch, the captain of the _Westfalen_, greeted Captains Holmes, Windsor, Blair, and Wester aboard the damaged IMG outpost a scant ten minutes later. King and Trent were there, acting with Wester as representatives for the LSF.

"What happened out there?" asked Windsor. His question captured the one on the mind of every person in the room.

"When news arrived of the Chancellor's arrest," explained Koch, "I realized something: despite the fact that the Chancellor disagreed with the Military on the war, they had no reason to arrest him based on that. The Military I knew would _not_ act so treasonous. I have therefore come to the conclusion that Military is under a foreign control, and I serve Rheinland, _not_ whoever has the leash of the Military. I had suspected for several months that Rheinland was under the influence, but when I heard of the Chancellor's arrest, I was certain. I'm not doing this to help you, necessarily; I'm doing this to save my people."

"I don't really care _why_ you're doing it," said Wester with a grin, "just that you're doing it. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you have any information on who is ultimately responsible for the Military's action?"

Wester filled the Rheinland captain in on the situation with the Orrids. Koch agreed that it was most likely the Orrids that were responsible, and returned to his ship to prepare for the journey to Southampton Shipyard for repairs and debriefing. Captain Wester, meanwhile, returned with Trent and King to the _Liberty_. Trent went to the bar and filled Tobias in on Koch's reasons for help them.

"Humph. I don't really trust Rheinlanders," Tobias said, "not since the Nomad Incident. Still, Koch _did_ let us go earlier. Ah well, at least they make good drinks."

* * *

**Freeport 12, Florida System:**

"Ah, Mr. Trent," said one of Lane's aids, catching up to him, "the Director has requested your presence. Judging from his demeanor, I don't think you're going to like what he has to say."

"Thanks," said Trent, who then proceeded to Lane's office on Freeport 12.

"Please, sit," said Lane when he entered.

"Mr. Lane, I assure you, I am not a mole for-"

"Is that what you think this is about?" said Lane, turning. He had a grim smile on his face, and he chuckled. "We've already caught the mole, an agent named Karl Rove. I called you here because I need to ask you a favor." Again, he indicated Trent to take a seat, who did this time. "I know we don't know each other very well, but I think that you're the only person qualified for this assignment. I want you to personally attempt to gain the support of the GMG. It helps that the GMG has asked for you personally."

"That won't be easy," said Trent, who was perplexed by the GMG's request for him, "but I have contacts in both Kusari and the GMG, so I might be able to manage."

"The only hitch is that they've demanded a neutral base for the talks to occur." Lane turned his computer to Trent, showing their terms. Trent read it, and one line caught his attention.

"No," he said resolutely. "No way in hell I'm going there. Ask them to find another place."

"Believe me, if I thought they would comply, I would have done so. I can see why you might feel uncomfortable going back –"

"I was seconds away from _dying_ there!" Trent was shouting. "I was never more terrified in my life, and I haven't been since! Find someone else, Director."

"I can't _spare_ anyone else," Lane said, rising. "And as you said, you have contacts. I'll understand if you absolutely can't go, but think about how many people's lives depend on this agreement. If it helps you, you can take Mr. Tobias along with you."

Trent sat there for several minutes before responding. "Let me think about it," he said. He went to the docking bay and entered his weapon inventory. He looked at a special weapon he'd found years ago, just before the Nomad Incident. He'd had it in storage since then, only putting it in the Paladin when he knew that the ship was going to stay with him. While he'd never personally met the man who'd made the weapon, it had held a place with Trent, and he'd kept it ever since. He stood there, thinking, before he headed for the bar.

He went over to a comm. unit and called up one of his contacts in Kusari.

_"Ah, Trent,"_ said Hitotsugu Fujita, the bartender of Honshu. _"It's about time I see someone from the outside. It's been rather hectic here lately."_

"I bet. Listen, the GMG wants to meet me, but I'd rather do it far away from Kusari, considering the circumstances."

_"Unfortunately, Trent, I doubt they'll budge. Stubborn people, the GMG. They have precious few safe havens, now that Rheinland is everywhere."_ Fujita looked at Trent intently. _"Am I to assume that they want to meet you on –"_

"Yes," said Trent, "and I _really_ don't want to go there."

_"I'm sorry to say that you have little choice. It's their last port of call outside of the Fringe Worlds since Naha and Ogashawa have been taken over by Rheinland."_

Trent sighed, resigned. "Thanks, Hito," he said. He turned off the comm. and thought for a few moments, before contacting Lane. "All right, I'll do it."

_"Excellent. You should leave immediately; the meeting is to happen in a day."_

Trent sought out Tobias, who he found in the docking bay working on his Hawk.

"What can I do for you, my friend?" Tobias asked.

"I need to go convince the GMG to ally themselves with us, and I'd like for you to come with me."

Tobias shrugged. "Very well. Where are they meeting us?"

Trent looked to the floor and sighed, resigned to the inevitable. "Freeport 7."


	18. Chapter 18

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 18**

**Freeport 7, Sigma-17 System:**

Two years ago, someone had gotten the brilliant notion to rebuild Freeport 7. It had been, up until its destruction, the only Freeport in the Sigma systems, and without it there was no safe haven for people wishing to remain on a low profile. When Trent had heard of it, he'd vowed never to return to it. Now, he was standing in the docking bay for the first time in eight years. Although the station had been rebuilt, it had used the same parts as the first station, so the docking bay looked identical to what it had looked like on that day.

"Must be tough," commented Tobias as he observed the docking bay.

"You have _no_ idea," mumbled Trent. Since Trent was the only living Freeport 7 survivor, he really had nobody to relate to in that respect. "Come on, they're waiting for us in the bar."

Trent had an ominous feeling as he walked through the halls. Everything looked identical to what it had before it was destroyed. He walked into the bar, which was similarly identical. Trent noticed the GMG delegation, and went over to join them.

"Edison Trent, representative of the Liberty Security Force," he said in way of introduction. It sounded just as trite out loud as it had when Trent had rehearsed it on the way to Freeport 7.

"Sora Mazawa, head of Gas Miner Nagoya. Thank you for meeting me, Mr. Trent. And you are?" he inquired, turning to Tobias.

"Richard Winston Tobias the Third, esquire, but please, call me Tobias."

Mazawa sat down at the table, and Trent and Tobias followed suit. "Tragic what happened here, no?"

"Uh huh," said Trent, trying not to think about it. He had the distinct impression that Mazawa had intentionally chosen Freeport 7 as the meeting place, and Trent as the representative, in order to throw off the talks. It was working.

"So," started Mazawa, "the LSF wants us to help them destroy a threat that doesn't even concern us, for no obvious g –"

"_Doesn't concern you_?" Trent said incredulously. "On the contrary, it most _certainly_ concerns you!"

Mazawa raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

"The Orrids are behind everything that has happened in Sirius lately, _including_ Rheinland's take-over of Kusari."

Mazawa was clearly interested now. "Can you prove this?"

That brought Trent up short. "No, not directly. However, the coup d'état in Liberty was organized by the Orrids. It isn't a stretch to think that they orchestrated the war between Rheinland and Kusari."

Mazawa's skeptical face had returned. "Still, I feel hard pressed to commit our resources based on speculation. I need hard evidence, and from what your demeanor suggests, such evidence doesn't exist."

"That's speculation," retorted Trent. This man was starting to annoy him. "The _best_ bet of freeing Kusari is to have allies, and right now, Hispania and Bretonia are too caught up trying not to be overrun to worry about freeing Kusari. That leaves Liberty as your only option, and as long as the Orrids control the Liberty Navy, we stand little chance of getting Liberty to intervene."

"All of this was, of course, brought up on Zonell, with the exception of Rheinland being controlled by the Orrids, and we rejected your plan then," Mazawa said. "You stand little chance of winning your war, with or without our help. If we allied with you, and you lose, we will have made an enemy of the Liberty government, in addition to the enemies we already have."

"And what if we win?" asked Trent rhetorically. He was about to continue when Mazawa answered Trent.

"Then the Liberty Navy will be in shambles, hardly able to free Kusari."

Trent again found himself without anything to say. _He's right._ Trent got some much needed time to think when a waiter came by for drinks. He ordered his usual Sidewinder Fang, while the GMG ordered Kusari Light.

The talks went on for hours. Trent tried every approach he could think of, yet Mazawa had a comeback for every one. Frustrated, Trent asked Tobias to talk to Mazawa, and took a walk. He tried to call up Juni but got an error in locating her. After a few more tries, he called up King, who answered quickly.

_"Trent, what's up?"_ he asked when he got a hold of him.

"My blood pressure," grumbled Trent. "Where's Juni?"

_"Don't know, haven't been able to get a hold of her for a while. How're the talks?"_

"That Mazawa guy is a royal pain in the ass. I can't get through to him no matter what I say."

_"The Director said that he had the same problem. Have you tried convincing him that helping us would help Kusari?"_

"That was the first thing I did. And the sixth. And the fourteenth. _And the nineteenth._ He keeps bringing up valid reasons why I'm wrong. This guy could talk a defense attorney into getting his client the death penalty."

_"How about the fact that Rheinland will attack the GMG sooner or later?"_

"He put a hole in that theory large enough to fly a battleship through."

_"Well,"_ he said, _" his conscience –"_

"Is non-existent. No dice, I tried that."

_"Damn. Well, I can't think of anything."_

Trent slammed his hand against the wall. "Damnit, this _has_ to work! We need the GMG's help if we want to stand _any_ chance of winning. The price of failure is too…" Trent trailed off. _The price._ He grinned. "I've got to go, I just thought of something." He turned off the comm. unit and rushed back to the table.

Tobias was locked in conversation. "…and his friend said that Bretonia will fall without any help. Without Bretonia, the chances of Kusari being freed is nil."

"_If_ Larkin's friend is correct. I'm not going to commit our forces based on a hunch."

"I'm back," said Trent as he sat down.

"I'll allow you two gentlemen to conduct business," said Tobias as he stood. "Ed, I shall be waiting in the docking bay." Tobias then headed out of the room, and Trent turned to face Mazawa.

"Mr. Mazawa, am I correct in assuming that your sales recently have been a bit… lackluster?"

Mazawa was perturbed by this question, and answered after only several long moments had passed. "Our sales have declined considerably, yes. What of it?"

"The LSF is in _dire_ need of a large amount of H-fuel, and so far we've been getting it from BMM using Gateway Shipping as a moderator. I'll admit that we're paying arm and leg for it, since H-fuel is so scarce in Bretonia. I'm sure that if you sided with us, we'd find a _very_ good incentive to buy it from someone whose prices are a bit… lower."

Mazawa was mulling this over. Trent had him, he knew it, it was just a matter of time. Any response that Mazawa had, however, was interrupted by Tobias coming in at a full sprint.

"Ed, Mr. Mazawa, we have an issue. A Rheinland gunboat just docked, and they seem to have orders to arrest Mr. Mazawa."

Mazawa bolted up, reaching for his gun. "We have to get off of here." He turned to his companions and uttered something in their native tongue. All four GMG delegates rushed off towards the docking bay.

Trent turned to Tobias. "Come on, they may need cover, and I'm not _about_ to let Rheinland take away our chance at winning over the GMG. Not while I'm this close."

* * *

**Sigma-17 System, Border Worlds:**

Mazawa was, apparently, a high priority target, because Rheinland had sent its only remaining battleship to apprehend him. Tobias' Hawk and four Eagles had launched from Freeport 7 ahead of Trent, and the _Bismarck_ had quickly opened fire on the Eagles. The gunners ignored Trent as he exited the station. _Their mistake._

Trent let loose a Cannonball and opened up on the _Bismarck_. The ship, however, was hardly scratched and Trent's attack only served to anger them. Several of the guns turned onto Trent, lessening the fire Mazawa was facing. Opening his comm. channel, he said, "Tobias, get them clear; I'll hold off the _Bismarck_."

Trent positioned himself between the retreating GMG ships and the _Bismarck_, though he knew the ship could simply run through him. He focused his attacks on the engines, knowing that if they went out, the _Bismarck_ couldn't pursue. Several Valkyries had launched from the _Bismarck_ and were going after the Eagles. _I hope Tobias can hold them off._ Trent fired another cannonball into the engine complex of the _Bismarck_, causing noticeable damage. Trent, however, couldn't dodge many shots in the Paladin, and was getting hammered by fire. _I can't hold out much longer._ Knowing this, he angled back, targeting the reactor, and fired.

* * *

"Go on ahead," Tobias said to the GMG fighters, "I'll meet you near Atka." He came about and targeted the nearest Valkyrie, opening up with his powerful Sunrails that his modified Hawk was able to carry. He wasn't doing much damage to the fighters yet, but he was stopping their advance. He was met with Firekiss fire, and he found his shields out. Tobias dove into the asteroid field, and kept at least one asteroid between him and the Rheinland ships at all times. Finally, his shield came back online and he flew out from his cover. The Valkyries were going on ahead, but Tobias caught up with them easily.

He dodged the center, Firekiss-armed Valkyrie, knowing that its obscenely powerful weaponry would cut through him easily, and instead focused on the rightmost fighter. His tweaked Advanced Pourpoint shield readily absorbed the Hornviper fire while his quad Sunrails ripped through his opponent. Within five seconds the Valkyrie was an expanding debris field and Tobias had come around for another pass. He was slammed with Firekiss fire, draining his shields within two seconds, and only a chance alignment with an asteroid saved him.

Without warning, the GMG Eagles came out of the asteroid field, pounding at the lead Valkyrie. It was destroyed almost immediately under the sustained fire of eighteen Skyblast Bs, though in its death throes it was able to destroy one of the Eagles. Tobias fired a Stalker missile at one of the remaining Valkyries and, though it missed, it caused the Valkyrie to swerve right into a Ripper mine. The final Valkyrie lasted less than five seconds against four heavily armed opponents.

With the pursuing fighters destroyed, the group headed to Atka where they found Trent already waiting for them. They docked with the research station in short order.

* * *

**Atka Research Station, Sigma-17 System:**

"Mr. Trent," said Mazawa, "I no longer feel safe in this area. We have some minor repairs to make, and then we'll be heading off to Nagoya."

"What about our negotiations?" asked Trent.

"We will continue them there," replied Mazawa. "When we are ready, you will escort us there." Not waiting for any rebuttal, Mazawa walked off.

Trent sighed and walked to the bar, where Tobias was waiting for him. "Gin of Liberty, iced," he said to the bartender. A rare drink, it was the only one from Liberty that Trent actually liked. He took his drink and sat down next to Tobias, who was nursing his usual rum.

"What happened to the _Bismarck_?" asked Tobias.

"By blind luck, I hit the relay powering the engines, stopped the ship dead," Trent replied, taking a drink. "It'll be out of commission for at least a week. Mazawa wants us to escort him back to Nagoya."

"Bloody GMG," Tobias grumbled. "It'll take us at least two days to reach Nagoya. When do we leave?"

"As soon as they're ready."

"We're ready," said Mazawa from behind. Sighing, Trent finished his drink and headed for the docking bay with Tobias in tow.

* * *

**Gas Miner Nagoya, Zeta-61 System:**

It had been a long and painless trip from Atka to Nagoya, and Trent had allowed Mazawa to contact Zonell. He sat in the bar, drinking a Kusari Light. _Tobias was right. This is bona fide crap._ It had been two hours since Mazawa had left, and Trent was starting to worry that the brass at Zonell would axe his negotiations. Tobias was working on his Hawk, which had received minor damage during the battle in Sigma-17.

"Mr. Trent?" said Mazawa from behind. Trent turned to face him. "My superiors have agreed that it is in our best interests to side with the Liberty Rebellion. They have informed Director Lane of the decision."

Trent stood up. "Thank you, Mr. Mazawa, for meeting with me."

"It was a pleasure, Mr. Trent," Mazawa said, and the two shook hands. Trent headed for the docking bay, and sure enough found Tobias hard at work on his Hawk's port wing.

"They've agreed to –" Trent stopped short as Tobias slammed his head against the wing.

"_Bollocks_!" he cursed as he rubbed his head. "Damnit, Trent! Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry," said Trent as he approached his godfather. "They've agreed to assist us, Mazawa just told me."

"Ah, well done, my young apprentice," said Tobias in a mock-formal voice. "Now you can use your people skills to nurse this welt on my head."

Trent climbed into the Paladin to start pre-flight checks and noticed the comm. indicator flashing. He pressed it and King appeared on-screen.

_"I heard you talked the GMG 'round,"_ he said. _"Good job, there. Listen, we're on our way to Belfast. The Director thinks that he can secure Bowex's help as well. Why don't you head on over there? I'll upload the coordinates for the jump hole connecting the two systems."_

"Sure thing, King," replied Trent as he signed off. He noted that Tobias had already launched, and so Trent followed suit.

* * *

_A/N: My, it's been six days since I've posted this fic and I'm already up to chapter 18? This is as far as I've written, folks, so my updates will necessarily be a bit more sporadic from here on out. This was as good as any place to stop, though, with no cliffhangers pending. I said earlier I'm not big on reviews, and I'm not, but it'd still be nice to get some feedback. I know the people over at Starport _love_ this fic, but the rest of you are eerily silent. At any rate, I'll start working on chapter 19 soon, and we'll move on from there._


	19. Chapter 19

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 19**

**Belfast Station, Zeta-63 System:**

Belfast was the first station that had been built in the Fringe Worlds, well before its vast resources had been documented. Bowex had taken a huge gamble by investing so much money into an uncharted area of space, but the discovery of vast resources in the Fringe Worlds and the ensuing monopoly had made them the most powerful corporation in Bretonia and the second largest shipping corporation in Sirius after Universal. Trent was seated in Belfast's bar, drinking a Spiced Rum that tasted downright awful.

Lane and Hugh Downy, the head of Belfast, had been talking on the other side of the bar for nearly six hours; Lane was hoping to cut off resource trade to Rheinland in the Fringe Worlds, which, considering the current Republican strike, would effectively render Rheinland incapable of operating in the region. More importantly, he was attempting to gain Bowex's help in moving goods to assist LSF interests in the Fringe Worlds, both in the short and long term. King was in the docking bay working on his Liberator and Tobias was flying around the nearby gas giant, leaving Trent alone.

A man sat down next to him, the third person to have taken that seat since Trent had been there. He turned and nodded to the man before going back to his drink. His head shot back to the man sitting next to him as he suddenly realized he recognized the face. José Márquez. "You?" Trent exclaimed, reaching for his gun.

"Me," Márquez replied. "I told you to stay out of our business, Mr. Trent, yet you've continued to meddle in our affairs." Márquez turned to regard Trent. "You now have a price on your head so large that you won't be able to be in the same system as a Bounty Hunter base without being attacked."

"They don't accept bounties from criminals," observed Trent. He had his hand on his pistol, and Márquez knew it, but he seemed unfazed.

"True, but I control Rheinland, and they _will_ accept bounties from the Military." Márquez's blunt revelation on how far his power went startled Trent, who hadn't thought him quite that powerful.

"Are you going to kill me, then?" At this, Márquez actually smiled.

"In front of all of these witnesses? I am a criminal mastermind, Mr. Trent, not an idiot. And truthfully, you're not a threat so much as an annoyance. Nobody will even know that I've been here, so telling them would be rather useless."

"Once I tell Lane –"

"By that time, I will be long gone."

"I could yell." Márquez looked at Trent with amusement.

"Your esteemed Director would tell you that they can't even confirm my identity, never mind pin any crimes on me. Furthermore, I'm wired with enough explosives that this station would become the next Freeport 7. And forgive me if I doubt that you can survive it _again_."

Trent, with an idea, suddenly pushed his drink into the criminal mastermind's hands. Perhaps with a fingerprint identification… Márquez looked down and regarded Trent's drink oddly, then downed it in one gulp. He stood, pocketing the glass. "I shall see you in hell, Mr. Trent. Have an excellent day." The Orrid leader quickly exited the bar. Trent sighed. _If only he'd left that glass after touching it._ He knew he needed something to do to take his mind off the annoying headache that was forming and so he headed to the docking bay. His Paladin had taken a few hits from an Orrid patrol he'd encountered between Nagoya and Belfast, and he felt it better to check out his systems now rather than later.

He found rather significant damage to his port engine, so he crawled into the back and pulled off the engine grill. He took a good look at the engine itself and grimaced. Pulling a toolkit out of the storage compartment in the cockpit, he dove into welding the damage closed. After about an hour of work, during which he'd accomplished precious little, he was interrupted.

"Ah, Trent." Trent banged his head against the top of the engine and swore. Tobias chuckled. "Now you know what it feels like."

"Damnit, Tobias, I already _had_ a headache." Trent sighed as he extricated himself from the engine module. "So, was the sightseeing trip worth it?"

Tobias shrugged. "I found one of those relays Ms. Zane spoke of, part of their communication system, but otherwise it was a rather dull journey." He poked his head into the Paladin's engine. "I see you took a wee bit of damage in our last encounter. Could you use assistance?"

"Sure," said Trent, and handed the toolbox to Tobias. He climbed back into the engine and motioned Tobias to follow. He pointed to a burned out power converter in the engine assembly. "I think one of those hits overloaded this converter, which caused the circuitry to fuse."

"Ah," said Tobias, who understood Trent as though the two were fluent in a second language. He immediately pulled out a fuse-wrench and pulled a blast shield over his face. The duo quickly went to work on the engine.

After two hours of work the engine looked as though it had just rolled off the assembly line. Trent found that his headache had receded, and suggested that they head to the bar to celebrate a job well done. Tobias quickly assented, but before they reached the bar Director Lane appeared.

"We're finished here, gentlemen," said the Director pleasantly.

"I assume you worked out something, then?" asked Tobias. Lane nodded.

"Bowex will supply us in the Fringe Worlds for a reduced fee, and they're cutting off Rheinland's supply route," he said. "Prepare to move out, we're heading back to Florida."

* * *

**Pensacola Station, Florida System:**

The Galactic Shipping base known as Pensacola had become the new _de facto_ capital of the Liberty Resistance since its commissioning four days earlier. The _Vermont_ was docked perpendicular to the plane of the rest of the system in a sad state of repair. Trent swore it hadn't looked that bad in Kusari; the ship looked beyond repair. Nevertheless, he knew that they couldn't afford to throw away a cruiser, even if it _was_ barely functional.

A meeting was currently in progress and the news was grim. Rheinland had forced their way into Cambridge, taking everything up to the Ross Planetoid. A damaged _Norfolk_ had fallen back to Planet Cambridge where another attack was considered imminent. In addition, a second Rheinland fleet had made another offensive against Holman, where _Osiris_ had joined _Essex_ and _Suffolk_ in repelling the fleet. A third fleet was believe to be making its way to Alpha-39, which was defended only by the _Victory_, where they were expected to lay siege to Zonell and attempt to enter Bretonia through Edinburgh. Should such a three-pronged assault through Leeds, Cambridge, and Edinburgh occur, it would be impossible for Bretonia to withstand an assault.

"I wish I had better news than that," said Lane in conclusion, "but at this point it seems inevitable that Bretonia will fall within the next two weeks."

"Can we assist in breaking a siege of Zonell?" asked Agent Briggs.

Lane shook his head. "Our intelligence indicates that they're now using the Kusari ships in their fleet. To be honest, it was foolish of us to overlook that possibility in the first place, but that addition gives Rheinland a numerical advantage over us. We simply don't have the firepower to stand up to them."

"Can we win if Bretonia falls?" asked King.

Lane waited several moments and sighed. "No. If Bretonia falls, Liberty will be completely surrounded by enemies. Even _if_ we ousted Grimes, we'd have no chance of withstanding an invasion."

"What _are_ we supposed to do?" asked a female agent.

"Is anyone here familiar with the term _deus ex machina_?" Lane asked. Everyone shook their heads. "It's Latin. It means, 'from the machine, God.' It's a literary theme, one in which a story is ended because of some highly improbable event. At this point, I believe that the only way that we can win is through an improbable and currently unforeseeable event in our favor." He looked at his hands and sighed. "What we need, ladies and gentlemen, is a miracle. I hope to oust Grimes, but that won't be enough. Our best bet is finding the jump hole generator and utilizing it."

"What about the lead we found?" asked Trent.

"_That_ is probably our best lead, but the likelihood of Kishiro accurately predicting the jump hole's appearance, us being in a position to use it, and it leading us to the generator all occurring is _quite_ improbable. Even then, we likely wouldn't have enough firepower to overtake the station." He took a long look around the room. "I tell you this, not to dishearten you, but to speak the truth. We need to look at _everything_, leave no stone unturned. We need to be constantly vigilant, constantly thinking, and to be blunt, very lucky. The next two weeks will be very –"

_"Director, you have a communiqué."_

"From who?"

_"Unknown, they are using a Kappa-7 band."_

Lane's eyes widened. "Ladies and gentlemen, I need the room. Mr. Black, ensure that this line is _completely_ secure. I don't _anyone_ other than myself to know what is said, are we understood?"

Trent heard the station's communication officer confirm the Director's request as he left the room. "What do you think that was about?" he asked King.

"Most likely a Code Black transmission," he said. "In other words, somebody's on a covert mission."

"Juni?"

"Nah, she's on _Vermont_. I think." The duo walked into the bar and ordered a soda.

"Do you think it's as hopeless as Lane makes it out to be?" asked Trent.

"Of course not. I wouldn't remain sane if I did."

Trent shook his head. "I can't believe it's come to this. Not even when we were fighting the Nomads did things look this bleak." He looked at King. "What if the entire Hajarran defense fleet joined us?"

"Well, if _that_ happened," said King in thought, "we'd wipe the floor with Orrids. I think the chances of that happening, though, are about as low as a peace treaty between humans and Nomads. Besides, even Alaak has gone back to Hajarra for some sort of religious ceremony."

_"All LSF personnel report to the meeting room."_

"Well, that was quick," said King as he stood. The duo walked back to the meeting room and as soon as they saw Lane's face, they knew the news was good. Once everyone had arrived, Lane began speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have excellent news. An undercover operative has discovered incontrovertible evidence that both proves Steven Grimes' guilt of the murder of my daughter and Barbra Jacobi's innocence of dealings with the Orrids." Cheers and applause went up around the room, and Lane couldn't keep a grin off his face. "The problem we now face is bringing this evidence to the attention of the public because Grimes has restricted access to the media. Therefore, in order to bring Grimes' downfall to fruition, I'm going to need to go undercover and try to contact Admiral Richard Jones. He's the only one I feel who can get close enough to Grimes to overthrow him. So the mission will consist of only two people: myself and Edison Trent."

Trent started. "Why me?"

"Mr. Trent," said Lane, "you managed to infiltrate Rheinland during the Nomad Incident. I know that I could use an LSF operative, as they're trained in covert ops, but a Freelancer is much more able to blend in with the common population." He turned back to the crowd. "I will be maintaining complete radio silence for the duration of this mission. In my absence, Agent King will command the forces of the LSF. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I need to brief Agent King and Mr. Trent on recent events I am unable to share with the rest of you, so you are all dismissed." With that Lane waved King and Trent into his office. After the door had shut, Lane started. "The undercover informant who brought me this information was Jun'ko Zane."

Trent and King looked at each other. "I thought she was on the _Vermont_," said King.

"She is."

"But –"

"That isn't the _Vermont_ that's docked here," explained Lane. "It's the wreck of the _Michigan_ marked to _look_ like the _Vermont_. _Vermont_ herself is posing as a Liberty Navy vessel. Agent Zane is trying to locate and free Premier Sánchez. It is possible she may complete her mission while I'm away, hence the reason for me telling you. It is also possible, though unlikely, that we'll encounter _Vermont_ while _we_ are undercover, hence the reason for me telling Mr. Trent. Any questions?"

"What are we traveling in?" asked Trent. "The Paladin is _far_ too obvious."

"I've procured a CSV from Rochester," explained Lane. "It's a common enough ship for a Freelancer, plus it comfortably seats two." Lane looked between the two, but no more questions were brought forth. "Very well. Mr. Trent, the CSV is located in Docking Bay 3, I want you to go ahead and prep it while I inform Agent King of all he needs to know." Trent nodded and walked to the docking bay.

He'd never flown a CSV before, and so took a few moments to look over the controls. It was similar in layout to a Startracker, though there were several controls for all of the utilities that most commercial ships lacked. He quickly decided that the ship was hardly worth flying, but it'd make a decent cover ship anyway. The top hatch opened and Lane climbed in.

"Are we all set?" he asked as he adjusted his helmet.

"I've never actually flown one of these before, so pardon any sudden stops." Lane chuckled. "At least you're flying. I'm a terrible pilot."

The docking bay door opened and Trent quickly cleared the station.

* * *

**Florida System, Liberty Space:**

"So what's our identification?" asked Trent.

"Freelancer Beta Four-Two," said Lane. "You're Alexander Mayhew and I'm Ronald "Ronnie" Garret. We've been working together for three years and have decent relations with Liberty, though we've made a few enemies in the Rogues and the Xenos."

"That's all?" asked Trent after several moments of silence. "I thought that your covers were more in depth."

"I only had five minutes to put this together," replied Lane, "so I think I've done rather well."

"Where are the _real_ Mayhew and Garret?"

"Never existed."

_"Trent, Director,"_ said the familiar voice of Orillion.

Lane groaned. "What do you want, Casper?" he said, annoyed.

_"I think you're making a terrible mistake putting yourself in danger like this."_

"I appreciate your concern, but I _think_ I know what I'm doing," replied Lane. "Now if you excuse us, I'd rather you _not_ blow our cover." With that, Lane cut the transmission.

"Problems?" asked Trent dryly.

"He and I have a history," replied Lane vaguely.

"Where do you think Jones will be?"

"Probably the _Missouri_ or the _Virginia_. But we can't just land on those ships and ask to see Jones. We need to work contacts and arrange a meeting in a neutral setting."

"So, where do we go?" By now the New York jump gate was looming larger and Trent sent the commands to open it.

"We'll start on Pittsburgh."

Trent nodded. "Pittsburgh it is, then."

* * *

_A/N: The first new chapter I've written in a _long_ while. I don't know if updates will always be like this now that I'm writing new material, but I _hope_ the next few chapters will come out quicker. I've written three more chapters of my Potter fic, which finally gave me the juice to get out of my writer's block rut. My FL2Systems mod (a prequel of sorts to this mod) is up and available for download over at the Starport._


	20. Chapter 20

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 20**

**Planet Pittsburgh, New York System:**

"You want to be put in touch with a member of the Navy?" asked Bill O'Reilly, a Freelancer Trent and Lane had found on Pittsburgh. Trent had to admit, Lane knew what he was doing. He was able to pick out probably the only Freelancer in the bar who had connections to the Liberty Navy simply by exchanging small talk with him.

"That's correct," Lane said. "My partner and I have hit a bit of a rough patch and with the way the new government has cracked down on criminals, it's almost impossible to get a decent paying job without going through the Navy."

"You aren't kidding," said O'Reilly with a chuckle. "I'm telling ya, between the lack of jobs for Freelancers and Bounty Hunters and the tariffs they're putting up on imported goods, Liberty is headed straight for a recession the likes of which we haven't seen in centuries."

"It'll get better when Liberty wins this war," said Trent, while thinking that there wasn't a chance in hell of _that_ happening.

"True," said O'Reilly. "All right, there's this guy on Newark named Eric Greer. He handles mission contracts for the Navy, and I think he's looking for a job at the moment. If you hurry, ya might be able to take it."

"All right, thank you, Mr. O'Reilly," said Lane.

"A pleasure, Mr. Garret," replied O'Reilly with a grin.

"You sure you know what you're doing, Ronnie?" asked Trent. He and Lane had agreed that it was wise to call each other by their false names unless inside their ships, just in case. "With H-Fuel prices as high as they are, I don't want to waste fuel to go to Newark if we're not gonna get a job."

"Ah, don't worry, Al," said Lane, "we'll pick up some boron and take it to Newark. That'll cover costs, right?"

With thirty-five units of boron in their cargo hold, Lane and Trent took off from the desolate mining world.

* * *

**New York System, Liberty Space:**

Trent entered the tradelane connecting Pittsburgh with Fort Bush. Trent set the controls to automatic and sighed.

"You know, it was a whole lot easier when we could freely land on battleships," said Trent. "Why do we even need to be on one?"

"I need to gain access to the Navy computer system to find Jones," explained Lane. "I can't do that from just any old computer system, it has to be linked to the Navy's network. So, unless you want to break into Navy Headquarters on Manhattan, getting on the _Missouri_ is our best bet. We're surrounded by Rogues, by the way."

"Damnit," Trent swore as his hands flew to the controls. He hadn't even noticed the tradelane being disrupted. Six Bloodhounds had taken down the tradelane and were now bearing down on Trent from all sides. He knew that the pile of crap he was flying would do well to take on just _two_ Bloodhounds, so Trent evaded their fire. The tradelane came back on-line in short order and Trent entered it. "So, what, are you going to waltz into their computer core and ask to look through it?"

"No," answered Lane, ignoring the sarcasm in Trent's voice, "once we're onboard, I'll be using my old espionage skills. That's not going to be an issue. The two big problems in this plan are getting on the _Missouri_ and getting to wherever Jones is. The rest should be a cakewalk."

"Yeah, cakewalk," Trent said skeptically as he dropped out of the tradelane. He set course for the one to Manhattan and put it on autopilot. "If the mission goes that easily, I may just die of shock."

"If you think you're about to, turn the piloting controls over to me."

"Your concern for me is overwhelming," said Trent dryly. "So, what's the story with you and Orillion?"

Lane sighed. "You know how he commanded a ship called the _Justice_, back when he first found Rockford?" Trent nodded. "I was his first officer, and we didn't agree on very much, that incident included. I said that Rockford was either lying, mistaken, or insane. Of course, it turns out I was wrong on that occasion, but the point stands that we never agreed on anything. He was an off-the-cuff officer; I was strictly by-the-book. I got command of the _Justice_ after Orillion stole _Osiris_, and I commanded her until I went into the LSF six years later."

"He's a good ally," said Trent.

"Yeah, I know. Still, the way he never seems to have a coherent plan grates on my nerves. One day it's going to get himself and a lot of good people killed." They reached the end of the tradelane and Trent set a course for Newark.

* * *

**Newark Station, New York System:**

"Eric Greer?" Lane asked the bartender. He looked around for a moment, then pointed to a man sitting at the back of the bar. "Thanks." The duo walked over and sat at the table. "Mr. Greer?"

"Gah," he said, "that's me dad. I'm just Eric. And you are?"

"I'm Ronnie Garret and this is Alex Mayhew. I was told you were the go-to guy if we wanted a Navy job."

"You were told right, then. Mind if I see your cards?" He took the proffered items and looked at them. "Seems good. All right, I've got a convoy moving side arms from Detroit to Norfolk, pay of ten thou. Sound good?"

"How about five thousand and access to _Missouri_?" asked Trent. Greer raised an eyebrow.

"What're you wanting on Big M for?"

"My cousin's in the Navy and is posted on the _Missouri_," explained Lane. "With the comm. blackout between civilians and the battleships, nobody's been able to tell him he's about to be a father."

"Ah," said Greer with a wide grin. "Family matters, then. All right, five thousand and I'll arrange for you to be let on _Missouri_ for a day. Deal?" Lane nodded. "Right, then. Now, the convoy is gonna leave in two hours, so buy yourselves a drink or two but get to Detroit by oh-twelve-hundred. I'll tell 'em that their escort has been hired."

"Very well, thank you, Eric."

"Me pleasure."

Trent and Lane walked to the bar and ordered two soft drinks. "Well, that turned out nicely," said Trent.

"Better than I'd hoped," agreed Lane. "Still, we've got a long way to go, Al. You know how Victor gets when he's excited."

"He's on a battleship full of armed men."

"That he is," said Lane with a nod. He paused. "I'll tell them to bring reinforcements."

* * *

**New York System, Liberty Space:**

_"Freelancer Beta Two-Four, this is freighter _Seattle_. We're ready to go."_

"Roger, _Seattle_," said Trent, adding under his breath, "finally." They had been delayed nearly three hours by… well, Trent wasn't sure _what_ caused the delay, but he knew it upset him. There were three freighters: the _Seattle_, the _Miami_, and the _Atlanta_. In addition there were five Navy Defenders and Trent's CSV. Not bad for a short jaunt across system. Trent fell into formation with the group as they entered the tradelane. He turned off the universal comm. and spoke to Lane. "Where's the evidence you're gonna give to Jones?"

"Left pocket, on a data chip," replied Lane. "It's a copy of the evidence, of course, in case we fail."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"I certainly hope so, Mr. Trent. For all our sakes."

"Well, I hope so too. Oh, what's this?" he said mockingly as the tradelane was disrupted. Eighteen Bloodhounds surrounded the convoy. Trent pulled the CSV up as he powered up the weapons. "Is _this_ your idea of a cakewalk?"

"Just shoot," said Lane.

_What kind of idiot designs a ship with only two forward-facing weapons?_ thought Trent as he fired his two Flashpoints. A Defender flew alongside him firing Vengeance Mk 2s and the Bloodhound quickly exploded. Trent found himself getting hammered _hard_, as it was nearly impossible to dodge shots in this thing. He looped around one of the freighters but found that that only changed _which_ Bloodhounds were firing at him. His Flashpoints were doing next to nil against the ships, making Trent want to scream in frustration. "You guys are really starting to _piss me off_," he growled as he _finally_ took down one Bloodhound's shields. The computer warned him of an imminent hull breach before Lane applied nanobots to the hull. He was sure that he'd lost a wing, though. At last, the Bloodhound Trent was trailing exploded. He was relieved to find that the rest of the Bloodhounds had been taken care of, though a mere two Defenders remained of the original five.

_"You should really get a different ship,"_ suggested one of the Defender pilots lightly. _"I think I've seen Rhinos that are more maneuverable."_ Trent grinned. _Actually, my other ship is a one-of-a-kind prototype very heavy fighter that would wipe the floor with that Defender of yours._ The rest of the trip was mind-numbingly dull, with no further attacks occurring to the convoy. When they finally reached their destination, Trent was given permission to land on the _Missouri_.

* * *

**Battleship **_**Missouri**_**, New York System:**

Trent gave a sideways glance at Lane, who sighed. It was so obvious that the question didn't even need to be spoken aloud, which was good, considering. _How are going to lose these two clowns?_ Ever since landing, Trent and Lane had been trailed by two Navy officers (ensigns, by the look of them) who held their weapons in plain sight. The message was clear: don't screw around. This made their mission quite a bit more difficult.

'Follow my lead,' mouthed Lane. He turned down a corridor that had several doors, one of which, Lane had explained, led to the computer core. Lane stopped in front of the door to take off his glasses (part of his disguise) and wipe them on his shirt. As soon as the following guards had caught up to the pair and were standing right behind them, Lane moved. He whipped around and grabbed the nearest guard and threw him headfirst into the bulkhead. The other guard quickly reached for his weapon, but Trent caught him in a sleeper hold as Lane cold-cocked his man into unconsciousness.

With both men down, they turned to the door. It was locked only with a retina-scanner, and Lane leaned into it, allowing it to scan his eye. He and Trent had argued weather the Navy would have removed Lane from the database, but Lane had won out, saying that they most likely hadn't had time enough to do so. "Changing the entire database takes several months, Mr. Trent," he had said. He was proven right as the door opened. Trent and Lane pulled the two guards into the room and closed the door.

"Shouldn't this place be guarded?" asked Trent.

"It was," replied Lane as he moved over to a consol, "by that scanner. The Navy is notorious for its security leaks. This is just more of the same. Now…" He started a database search for Richard Jones. "This shouldn't take long, just a few – aha! Done. It seems he's currently _en route_ to Los Angeles on board an armored transport." Lane read further. "It gives his itinerary. Meh, I forgot just how much information the Navy puts in here. If a criminal faction could hack into the database, they could take down half of Liberty."

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

Lane looked at him and gave a single chuckle. "I suppose we are, at that." He downloaded the data onto a chip. "We're done here; now let's get the hell out of dodge."

* * *

**New York System, Liberty Space:**

"Trent, I think they're on to us," said Lane as they took off from the _Missouri_. Everything around them showed as hostile.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree with that assessment," Trent replied as he dropped several countermeasures and engaged cruise. Fortunately, none of the many Wasp missiles hit, and they were on their way. "Going through the jump gate would pretty much be suicide."

"I agree, but we don't have much choice, do we?"

"We could take the scenic route, go through – what was the name, Tax-is? – and then to California."

Lane chuckled at the disregard for Liberty's least important system. "We'll probably run into a few Rogues, but that's better than running into everyone on the other side of the law. Let's do it."

"Texas it is," said Trent as he plotted a course for the jump hole.

* * *

**California System, Liberty Space:**

The flight through Texas had been completely enemy-free, but it seemed as though karma was trying to correct the mistake as they were met by no less than five Bloodhounds. Trent cursed, dropped a handful of countermeasures, and engaged cruise. This time, though, he wasn't as fortunate, and a Wasp clipped him. "Lane!" he shouted to the man who controlled the rear turret. "Start firing!"

"I'm trying!" he replied as he fiddled with the Magma Hammer turret. Trent, meanwhile, worked with his Flashpoints and was able to take down one Bloodhound's shields.

"Shieldless ship, coming into your arc," Trent called.

"I see him," replied Lane as Trent fired at another ship. "He's down." Trent glanced down and noted that the effects of the Wasp had worn off. Dropping five countermeasures, he engaged cruise, and this time was able to avoid all of the cruise disruptors. Trent sighed in relief as Lane applied nanobots.

"Good job. I don't think we'd've lasted another minute." They rode all the way to Los Angeles in silence. It was only when the planet loomed ahead that Lane spoke.

"How are we going to get down there?" he asked. "The docking ring is hostile to us." Trent checked the contact list and found that it was indeed hostile to them. _Looks like word travels fast._

"Docking ring, shmocking ring. Docking rings haven't always been around, so I'm going to land the old-fashioned way." He could tell Lane was looking at him incredulously just by the silence.

"You _are_ insane," he said at last. "Do you think this ship can take an unassisted landing?"

"Well, I suppose we'll find out soon enough, won't we?" he replied sardonically as he pushed the ship into the atmosphere.

* * *

**Planet Los Angeles, California System:**

The landing went well, though Trent highly doubted he'd be leaving the planet in this ship due to its newfound notoriety. Perhaps he should put it in storage; despite it being relatively worthless, it _was_ fun to pilot. He sat down in the capital city, Mason, and climbed out with Lane.

"He's going to be in the Barrington Tower Tunnels in an hour," said Lane as he looked at the data he'd downloaded. Barrington Tower was an iconic landmark in Liberty, the tallest building on Los Angeles, and a workplace for tens of thousands. Lane had told him that the basement led to a series of tunnels that hid various labs run by the Navy, and it was there that they would find the admiral. "We won't be able to get into the Tunnels through Barrington, though. The retina scanner on _Missouri_ will have registered my use of it, so I have no doubt that they've put a block on my access."

"I thought you said that'd take a while."

"For a full sweep, yes. They'd need to dig up the retina profiles of everyone they didn't want access and block them. Here, though, they could just get my profile off of when I used it on the _Missouri_ and use that to block me. Fortunately, there's a utility hatch that's so old that most people probably don't remember it. It's a safe bet it's unguarded."

"All right, then, lead the way."

By then, the pair had reached the road. Lane flagged down a cab and they got in. "Intersection of Messing Street and Highton Boulevard," he told the cabbie.

"Twenty credits, up front." Trent fished out the credits and handed them to the driver. He glanced at them before pulling back onto the road. A half an hour later they exited the cab in a highly industrialized area.

"This way," said Lane as he strode down the street. He turned into an alley and stopped over a manhole.

"The utility entrance is in a sewer?" Trent asked.

"No, it's disguised as a regular manhole," Lane replied as he inserted a key into a keyhole and pulled the manhole open. Underneath it was a ladder that descended into darkness. "Doesn't help when the people who're breaking in know of it, though."

They climbed for about two minutes before finally reaching the ground. Trent found himself in a room with much machinery, including what appeared to be a power generator. "So, what's the plan now?" he asked as he pulled out his gun.

"We'll wait for a few minutes. I'd be willing to bet he's early; he may already be here."

"How many guards do you think he'll have with him?"

"None, they'll be up top guarding the entrance," said Lane. "During regular work hours, there's usually a team of scientists in the lab, but they don't work today." The next several minutes were passed in silence. After about ten minutes, Lane finally stood. "He should be here by now. We'll check the conference rooms first; he's most likely to be in one of those." Trent nodded and opened the door to the hall.

The Tunnels were eerie and dark, made almost entirely of stone. The first conference room wasn't very far away, a mere two hallways. A quick glance through the window on the door showed it as deserted. Four long hallways later they came upon the second conference room. It was occupied by a man who looked to be around seventy who was looking over a pile of papers. Trent looked at Lane, who nodded. Trent opened the door and Jones looked up in surprise.

"Who are – ah," he said in realization when Lane entered behind him. "Mike, that's a _terrible_ disguise."

"Fooled everyone else, didn't it? We need to talk, Dick," said Lane as Trent pointed his gun at the admiral.

"I wondered what you'd broken into _Missouri_'s computer core for. Well, you have my undivided attention," he replied dryly as he put down his pen. "To what do I owe this unexpected and somewhat rude interruption?"

Lane pulled out a data chip from his left pocket. "I had to bring some evidence to your attention, Dick. It proves that Jacobi is innocent and Grimes is guilty." Jones took the proffered chip and put it into a datapad. "You can put your gun down, Mr. Trent." Trent lowered his weapon.

"How did you get in here, Mike?" asked Jones as he read off of the pad.

"Unguarded utility hatch. So old I doubt anyone but me knows about it."

"Always on the lookout for useless information that can help, aren't you? I assume that this is a copy of the data."

"Correct. Just because I'm not legit at the moment doesn't mean I've taken leave of my senses."

"This is pretty damn compelling," said Jones quietly after a few minutes. "I was skeptical of Grimes' evidence, but my best men couldn't find any evidence of tampering. This, though, is pretty straightforward." He looked up at Lane. "Why bring it to me, though?"

"You have unlimited access to Grimes," explained Lane. "I figure you have the best bet of deposing him peacefully."

"Probably true," said Jones with a nod. "All right, the paperwork can wait; I have a president to overthrow. Come on, I'll need backup." Jones strode out the door with Trent and Lane behind him as they prepared to take on the Acting President of Liberty.

* * *

_A/N: I'm back! It's been over a year since the last proper update, but as promised in my (now deleted) author's note, here is the August 1st update, all of chapter 20. I've got chapters 21 and 22 all the way done and am a good portion through 23. I've also gone back and cleaned up the last 19 chapters; they should be a bit more readable, with errors corrected and language changed to make things clearer. No plot points have changed, so re-reading isn't necessary. I do have some business to take care of over the next few weeks, but I still expect to get this story done within the month. Enjoy!_


	21. Chapter 21

_Freelancer is a trademark of Microsoft; no infringement is intended._

**Chapter 21**

**California System, Liberty Space:**

Trent sat in the co-pilot's chair of the armored transport as it launched from Los Angeles. Seated around the bridge were Lane, Jones, the pilot, and two of Jones' guards. A third guard was resting in one of the two bunks the ship had.

"We're clear, sir," the pilot informed the admiral.

"What's our ETA to Manhattan?"

"Approximately one hour and ten minutes."

"Good. We're making good time." Jones turned to Lane. "Mike, I never had the chance to properly express my condolences," he said. "I can't imagine what I would do if Renee was killed." He tilted his head to one side. "Is there going to be a problem?"

"What do you mean?" asked Lane tonelessly.

"We're going to confront Vanessa's killer," pointed out Jones. "It's not much of a leap to think that you may want to kill him."

"I'm a trained officer; I can separate my feelings from my duty," said Lane. "To be honest, these past two months have been so filled with various crises that I've hardly had time to dwell on it."

"I know what you mean," assented Jones. "The whole damn sector's gone to hell."

"What's the plan?" asked Trent.

"We're going to confront Grimes directly," said Jones. "I'll present the evidence to him and ask for his immediate resignation before placing him under arrest." He paused. "Of course, to make sure this goes off without a hitch, we'll need some special equipment." He pressed a button on a consol on his armrest and a screen came up. After a few moments, the screen showed a Navy officer. "Lieutenant Morales, I need one of our SJDs coded to block out Class Alpha One signals. And I also need you to keep this off the record."

The lieutenant raised an eyebrow quizzically. _"Alpha One? I'll see to it personally, Admiral. When do you need it by?"_

"We'll be arriving on Manhattan within the hour. I need it as soon as possible."

_"Aye, sir,"_ said the lieutenant with a salute before the channel closed.

"That device will neutralize Grimes' panic button," Jones explained upon seeing the confused looks. "Hopefully we can arrest him without alerting every soldier on Manhattan."

"Is there a suicide bomb in the office?" asked Trent, recalling that there was one in the Rheinland Chancellor's office.

"If there is, I'm unaware of it." Lane nodded in agreement. "Still," continued Jones, "we must be careful. If we suspect he's about to trigger such a device, we may have to neutralize him."

"Could I be the one given that 'unpleasant' duty?" asked Lane wryly. Jones looked at him sternly. "I said that I could keep my emotions in check, not that I didn't want him dead."

Jones sighed. "For security's sake, the only one of us who'll be armed is Mr. – Trent, was it?" Trent nodded. "Mr. Trent. It will be much easier to conceal one weapon than it would be to conceal three."

"What will happen after Grimes is arrested?" inquired Trent.

"The Order of Succession after the elected President is the three heads of the Liberty Military Department in order of seniority," explained Lane. "Grimes was head of LPI for sixteen years, Dick has been head of the Navy for thirteen, and I've been head of the LSF for eight. Thus, when Grimes is arrested, Dick here will become Acting President."

"A duty I'm not looking forward to," admitted Jones. "I'm a man of the military, not a politician."

"Since the evidence exonerates President Jacobi," continued Lane, "there will not be a special election unless and until it is proven she is deceased. Assuming she is found alive, she will resume her duties as President."

"Grimes will be tried, of course," added Jones. "Most likely on various charges of treason, conspiracy, and murder. He will almost certainly be convicted on this evidence, and the seriousness of the charges will mandate a life sentence."

"In the meantime, we'll need to coordinate against the Orrids and their allies," said Lane. "As soon as you're installed as AP, we'll need to contact Michael King in Florida and bring the LSF back to Manhattan."

"Agreed, and I'll have to recall our ships in the Independent Worlds."

"Sir, we're approaching the jump gate," said the pilot.

"Very well," said Jones. "Let's see what this will entail."

* * *

**Planet Manhattan, New York System:**

The armored transport sat down near the main Navy building on Manhattan. The rest of the trip had seen Lane explain the Orrid situation to Jones. Jones had suggested that Lane remain in disguise in case there were moles working for Grimes around. Jones had retrieved the device (a small metal cylinder) quickly and the three made their way to the nearby Administrative Building. Instead of using the main entrance, however, they were instead using a private elevator that would take them directly to the President's Office on the top floor. Normally, only the President and the three heads of the LMD had access to it, but since one was a fugitive and the President under arrest, only Grimes and Jones had access to it. It was protected by a handprint scanner and retina scanner. Jones passed both security measures and entered the building.

Trent had hidden his weapon inside a container provided by the admiral that would block the weapon detectors that were just inside the door. It worked perfectly, for no alarms were set off when Trent entered.

"One crisis averted," he quipped. Jones shushed him and called the elevator. It arrived quickly, and the three stepped in.

"I'll be the one to confront him," said Jones after a few moments. "The two of you should hold position near the door, in case he alerts security in some fashion." Trent and Lane nodded as the elevator reached the top. Trent had to admit that the elevator moved fast; it had taken all of thirty seconds to climb two hundred floors.

The hallway they entered was adorned with portraits of the previous Presidents of Liberty. The elevator they'd just stepped out of was at the western end of the hall; the door to the President's Office was directly across from the door leading to the reception area. It was there that most of the guards were stationed. Only a single guard stood outside of the main office, and he turned to regard the three men approaching.

"I'm sorry, sirs, but Presidential Security is not allowing President Grimes to take appointments for security reasons," he said.

"You are aware of who I am?" asked Jones.

"Yes, Admiral, but security will not allow _anyone_ access to the office, no exceptions. I'm afraid you'll have to reach him through teleconference."

"I see," said Jones. Blindingly fast, he wrapped his right arm backwards across the guard's neck and used his right leg to sweep the feet from under him. As the guard fell, Jones crouched and the guard fell hard across Jones' knee. The guard dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Trent whistled. "You know some moves, I'll give you that." Jones shrugged and opened the door. He pulled the guard in and Trent and Lane followed. The office was large, big enough to accommodate a fighter. There were many statues, bookcases, filing cabinets, and a large conference table in front of a large screen. The main desk appeared to be made of some type of oak and was cluttered with papers and a computer terminal. Steven Grimes himself sat in the chair behind the desk. He was a short man, somewhat overweight, and sported tidy black hair. He looked up from a piece of paper as they entered the room.

"Dick," he said as he eyed the unconscious guard, "I hope you have a _very_ good explanation for this." His arm twitched behind the desk. Trent assumed that he'd pressed his panic button.

"Won't work, Steve," said Jones, holding up the jamming device by way of explanation. He'd obviously reached a similar conclusion. "You probably recognize one of my two companions –"

"Unfortunately, I can't say that I do," said Grimes, looking at Trent and Lane. Jones raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"The younger man is Edmund Trent –"

"Edison," corrected Trent under his breath.

"– while the older gentleman is Michael Lane."

Grime reared back in surprise, and Trent thought he saw a hint of fear in his eyes. "Why, exactly, are you cavorting with a fugitive?" he asked.

Jones stepped forward and handed Grimes the data pad with the evidence chip in it. "I think you should look at this. It should clear several things up, Mr. President."

Grimes took it and read. As he read, his face grew increasingly paler. Admiral Jones sat in a chair across the desk from Grimes while Trent upholstered his weapon, though he kept it pointing down. Lane stayed near the door with the unconscious guard. After a few minutes, Grimes sighed. "This is… rather convincing."

"Do you deny the accusations?" asked Jones.

Grimes sighed again as he looked up. "To do so would be an exercise in futility."

"Why?" said Lane levelly. _Too_ levelly. He didn't need to elaborate on his one word question, though.

"My reasons are my own," replied Grimes. Trent now aimed his weapon at the Acting President. Grimes glanced at him briefly before turning his attention back to Jones. "So, what do we do from here?"

"You will announce your resignation immediately," said Jones with a steel edge in his voice. "We will then place you under arrest for treason, conspiracy, and murder." Jones leaned over the desk menacingly. "I would _highly_ suggest that you also inform us of what you know of the Orrids' future plans, as well as the location of the jump hole generator. Otherwise… well, you know how it works. Guards can get a little carried away… accidents happen…"

"There's no way we can make this disappear?" Grimes asked. Jones shook his head and Grimes leaned back. "That's unfortunate," he said at length.

"There's no way out of this, Steve," said Jones.

"I'd have to disagree," replied Grimes. Trent saw Grimes' right arm twitch but he hesitated a moment before pulling the trigger.

Too late.

The desk exploded.

* * *

_A/N: Meh, I should stop making promises. A month indeed. Anyway, I know the chapter is short (the shortest of the story so far), but I thought I'd put it out there. I won't deny, I _have_ lost some of my interest, but I'm still determined to finish the story. When, I don't know, but it _will_ be finished. Chapter 22 will be out sometime, and it's one of the longest chapters to date. Until next time (whenever that is), take care._


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Planet Manhattan, New York System:**

Trent was thrown against the wall. _Hard_. He fell to the floor and rolled, his weapon landing a few feet from him. His right shoulder had exploded in pain, the wound he'd received on São Paulo returning with a vengeance. Nevertheless, he crawled over and picked up his weapon before surveying the scene.

The desk had been completely obliterated. Jones was laying in a bloody heap several feet from where the desk had been. Grimes had apparently been thrown through the window behind his desk by the explosion. Trent knew he was dead; if the explosion itself hadn't killed him (an unlikely scenario), the two hundred story fall definitely would. Jones' condition was a bit harder to ascertain. He didn't _appear_ to be moving, but Trent was far enough away that he could be breathing shallowly and Trent wouldn't notice. Lane was a few feet behind Trent. His head was bleeding but he'd managed to rise to one knee and was holding the unconscious guard's gun. It was for naught, however, as the door burst open and no less than three dozen armed men stormed into the room.

"Drop the weapons!" ordered one of the men. Lane and Trent both raised their arms in a surrendering manner and dropped the guns. One guard came over to each and kicked the weapons away before placing them in handcuffs. Trent saw one man look up from Jones and shake his head. Jones was gone. "Take them to holding cell A," said the same man who had spoken, who was apparently in command.

"Wait," said Lane. "I need to speak to the highest ranking official in the Navy. We have information that needs to be brought to light."

"I will… see what I can do," the man said. He jerked his head and Trent and Lane were brought to their feet. They were taken down several floors and put in a spartan room with only a table and four chairs, all bolted to the floor. The guards exited, leaving the two alone.

"I should have shot Grimes," said Trent bitterly. He slammed his fist on the table. "Damnit, I could've saved Jones. I guess I'm still not used to shooting political figures on sight."

"It's quite likely that the bomb was on a dead man's switch," said Lane pensively. "Even if you'd have shot him the bomb would have gone off."

Trent nodded, the words having relieved him of some of his guilt, though not all. "Where do we go from here?" he asked.

"Grimes and Dick are both dead, which means that I am the one who will become Acting President, assuming I'm not arrested. I need to contact King and have him relay the evidence, and then I'll be sworn in. After that, we'll have to consolidate our forces and stand up to Rheinland."

"And in the meantime?"

"We wait."

* * *

It was three hours until anyone else came into the room. It was a middle-aged woman in full military uniform who finally entered the room. Her rank insignia was that of a Rear Admiral. She dropped a folder on the table and sat down.

"Normally it would be an interrogator in here instead of me," she said formally, "but considering your identity and the events of the past few hours, I've decided to talk to you personally."

"Rear Admiral Denise Lindsey, isn't it?" inquired Lane.

She nodded. "Correct, Mr. Lane." She opened the folder and looked through it. "The circumstances of recent events have been… unusual, to say the least. The highest ranking man in the Liberty Navy confronting the Acting President while in the company of a man wanted for treason." She looked up at Lane. "That in and of itself begs many questions, which I'll get to in a moment." She looked back down at the folder. "Acting President Steven Grimes and Admiral Richard Jones both died from a bomb planted in the President's desk, according to the medical examiner's preliminary report. The bomb, which was placed in 416 in case the President's Office were breached by enemy forces, can only be activated by manual detonation or the death of the President. Since Acting President Grimes died as a result of the explosion, he must have detonated the bomb." She looked back up at Lane. "So, what in the hell is going on? Because none of this makes any sense."

"Grimes was a traitor to Liberty and we were presenting him with conclusive evidence of that," explained Lane. "Apparently he decided to take the coward's way out and kill himself rather than face the consequences. Admiral Jones was unfortunately standing too close to the desk when Grimes triggered the bomb."

"You have this evidence with you?" she asked, her tone not indicating whether she believed Lane or not.

Lane shook his head. "No, the copy I gave to Admiral Jones was almost certainly destroyed by the explosion. I can have Michael King transmit the evidence to you, though, if you'll allow me to contact him."

Lindsey sighed and nodded. She pulled a communicator from her belt and talked into it. "Please send in two armed guards to escort Mr. Lane and myself to the communication center." Within moments two men had entered the room. Lane stood and left the room, followed by the two men and then Lindsey. Two more guards entered the room. Trent sighed, sat back, and closed his eyes.

* * *

It took nearly forty-five minutes for them to return, at which point Trent had dozed off. The door opening, however, brought him back into full awareness. "Uncuff him," Lindsey said as she and Lane entered. The guards undid his handcuffs and Trent flexed his hands. "You are free to go," she continued.

"Admiral Lindsey, Mr. Trent, please join me in conference room one," said Lane as he walked from the room. Trent and Lindsey followed.

"What's going on?" asked Trent.

"Admiral Lindsey says that the evidence exonerates me from any wrongdoing. I'll be sworn in as soon as the Chief Justice arrives. You have contacted him, yes, Admiral?"

"Yes, sir," she replied.

"I want you to be one of my witnesses," Lane continued.

"Witnesses?"

"The Constitution states that the President must be sworn in in the presence of four witnesses: one from each branch of the military and a civilian. Normally, it's quite publicized, negating the need for choosing witnesses, but we're a bit pressed for time. Admiral Lindsey will represent the Navy, Agents Zane and King will represent the LSF, and – who's representing LPI?"

"Sergeant Peter Avery," replied Lindsey.

"Juni's back?" asked Trent.

Lane nodded. "She completed her mission two days ago, about forty-eight hours after we left. Premier Sánchez is safe on New Madrid once again."

"Where were they holding him?"

"Fuchu Prison, of all places." They had by now reached conference room one, which had a large table seating twelve and a large monitor at the far end of the table. On the monitor were King and Juni, while already seated at the table were a seventy-some year old man and a man around Trent's age. The older gentleman rose.

"Mr. Lane, I'm pleased –"

"Time is of the essence, Justice Harris, so can we dispense with the pleasantries?"

Harris frowned. "Very well. May I have the names of the witnesses?"

"Peter Avery, Sergeant, Liberty Police, Incorporated."

"Denise Lindsey, Rear Admiral, Liberty Navy."

_"Michael King, Commander, Liberty Security Force."_

_"Jun'ko Zane, Lieutenant, Liberty Security Force."_

Trent took this as his cue. "Edison Trent, civilian."

"Rupert Harris, Chief Justice," said the older man. "The required witnesses are present," he continued as he turned to Lane and produced a book, "so let us commence." Lane placed his left hand on the book and raised his right. "Do you, Michael Lane, swear to uphold the word and the spirit of the Constitution of Liberty?" asked Harris.

"I do."

"Do you swear to abide by the rules and laws set down by the Libertonian Council?"

"I do."

"Do you swear to follow the will of the people, regardless of your own volition?"

"I do."

"And do you accept the duties and responsibilities required as President?"

"I do."

"Then, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberty, I declare you, Michael Lane, to be the rightful President of Liberty. Thank you, sergeant, that will be all," Harris said to Avery, who nodded and left. Juni and King applauded politely as they snickered while Lane rolled his eyes.

"Now that we've got _that_ out of the way," he said with a hint of annoyance, "I think I need to do some adjustments to the command structure. Rear Admiral Lindsey, as the highest ranking officer in the Liberty Navy I am appointing you head of the Liberty Navy. Agent King, you will remain as head of the LSF until we recover President Jacobi and I resume my duties. Agent Zane, since I have little doubt that the current head of LPI is corrupt, I am appointing you temporary head of the organization."

_"Don't you have to approve this with the Council?"_ asked King.

"Normally, yes," said Lane with a nod, "but the emergency powers the Council granted the position two months ago allows me to appoint a head without approval for up to six months. Director King and Chief Zane, return to Manhattan immediately. We need to consolidate our forces in order to oppose Rheinland's imminent invasion of Bretonia."

_"Yes Mr. President,"_ King and Juni chorused before flickering off the screen. Lane turned to Harris.

"Justice Harris, I need you to drop all charges against Barbara Jacobi, myself, and the rest of the LSF and Navy mutineers, as well as prepare a statement to the populace about my ascension to the Presidency."

"I'll take care of it at once Mr. President," he replied. Lane nodded at him dismissively and Harris strode from the room.

"Rear Admiral Lindsey, recall all of our ships to New York and begin coordinating the reintegration of the Navy vessels that defected to our side. Confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and produce a report on our military assets, then speak with Director King and come up with recommendations for the invasion Bretonia is facing."

"Yes Mr. President," she said before she, too, left the room.

"Mr. Trent, unfortunately I've run out of offices to appoint people to," Lane said wryly.

"Oh, that's fine," said Trent. "I hate politics anyway."

"I still think you're a major asset to the war," said Lane. "I'd like you to continue to sit in on meetings as you have been. I'm sure I could create a position that would allow that. Tactical advisor, maybe?"

"Me?" chuckled Trent as he rose. "You'd ask _me_ for advice on tactics?"

Lane shrugged. "Well, at any rate, take some much needed time off while we're getting everything ready. And Trent?" Trent turned to Lane as he reached the door. "Thank you for accompanying me on this mission."

"No problem, Mr. President."

As Trent left the room, he was certain he heard Lane mutter, "God, I hate being called that."

* * *

_"So, all is finally well with Liberty?"_ asked Tobias.

"Well, I wouldn't go _that_ far," answered Trent. "Everybody here still has an attitude problem. But at least they aren't trying to kill me anymore, so that certainly makes it better in my eye. How's the shop?"

_"I've never had this much business,"_ said Tobias brightly. _"Everybody is wanting their ship armed now so that they can do something about the invasion. I swear, it's bloody amazing how this is turning out. I would wager that the civilian fighting force outnumbers the military's at this point."_

"Are you going to be out there?"

_"Bah! Like you even have to ask. Rheinland have stopped their assault on Holman, but they'll be back, and I'll be waiting for them. They'll rue the day they chose to make war with Bretonia, of that you can be certain."_

_"Mr. Trent, the Director and Chief Officer have arrived,"_ said a voice in Trent's earphone. He sighed.

"Tobias, I've gotta go. King and Juni are here, and I suspect Lane will be calling a meeting any time."

_"Very well Ed, I shall talk to you soon. Try to keep safe."_ With that, the line went dead. Trent made his way to conference room one, where Lane, Juni, King, and Lindsey were already assembled, along with an aide.

"Trent, we were just about to call for you," said Juni. "Good to see you again."

"Nice to see you, too, Juni," he replied. "So, this is where we decide who goes where?" he asked as he took a seat next to her. She nodded.

"Mr. President, I have the Joint Chiefs of Staff," said the aide.

"Thank you, Clarence," he said, dismissing her. The screen came on-line, showing four men in full military uniform along with seven other people bearing the rank of captain. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Five hours into my Presidency and we're already holding a meeting to discuss a war."

_"Are we at war with Rheinland, then?"_ asked one of the Chiefs.

"Technically, no, but if we allow Bretonia to fall they will pick off Hispania and invade us, rendering them and by extension the Orrids in complete control. I assume you have all read the brief on the Orrids and their involvement with the current crisis?" All of the Chiefs nodded. "We cannot allow them to take over Bretonia. What –" Lane stopped and frowned. "Where's Captain Forrester?"

_"He's on leave,"_ replied one of the Chiefs, _"and the _Omaha_ is undergoing a major refit; she won't be active for several months, I'm afraid."_

Lane sighed. "What's the status of our other battleships?"

_"Captains?"_ prompted one of the Chiefs.

_"The _Missouri_ is fully operational, no battle damage,"_ answered Captain White.

_"_Virginia_ is still in drydock repairing damage from the battle in Zone-21,"_ replied Captain Patterson with a wry grin. _"I wouldn't recommend you giving us an order that requires use of an engine because we don't _have_ any."_

Lane winced. "Sorry about that."

_"The _Rio Grande_ is next to useless at the moment,"_ said Captain Palmer grimly. _"We're still a month away from having weapons back on-line."_

Captain Wester leaned forward. _"The _Liberty_ still needs some repairs but the vast majority of our weapons are on-line. I think it would be safe to deploy immediately."_

_"_Yukon_ is as battle-ready as the day she launched,"_ reported Captain Findley.

_"We're probably in even better shape than _Yukon_," _said Captain Hurd of the _Wisconsin_.

_"_Harmony_ is finishing up a refit, but I think I could get her ready to move in a week,"_ finished Captain Jefferson.

"We therefore have full use of four battleships, plus one more within the week," summed up King.

_"I've also compiled a report for our cruisers,"_ said one Chief as he looked down at a paper. _"We have thirty-six in battle-ready condition and another five in reserve. That does not include the _Vermont_ and _Ticonderoga_."_

"Director, you've come up with a battle plan?" Lane asked.

"Yes, Mr. President," he responded as he pulled out several sheets of paper, "Rear Admiral Lindsey and I believe that this deployment will maximize Bretonia's chances of withstanding Rheinland's assault." He passed the papers around.

"Their weakest assault point is the one at Cambridge," continued Lindsey. "Only _Myoko_ and a few Rheinland cruisers are attacking. I've recommended deploying _Liberty_ and six cruisers to reinforce _Norfolk_ and her destroyers, and the Bretonian Armed Forces are rushing the maintenance work on _York_ and expect her to be under way within five days."

"Next, and where our strongest defense currently is, is Holman," said King. "I recommend sending _Wisconsin_ and fifteen cruisers to assist _Essex_,_ Suffolk_, _Osiris_, and their support ships."

"Finally," said Lindsey, "our weakest point is Alpha-39, defended solely by the _Victory_. Rheinland will attempt to take Zonell before making an assault into Bretonia, so we should stage our defense over Zonell. _Missouri_ and _Yukon_, along with our remaining seventeen cruisers, should deploy there immediately. In addition, we should attempt to send in _Harmony_ as soon as possible."

"Why such a large force?" asked Lane.

"Judging from the sizes of the fleets in Harris and Cambridge," replied King, "and our estimates for the Rheinland fleet, over half of their available ships are _en route_ to Alpha-39. We need every ship we can spare to hold the line."

"How long until that fleet arrives in Alpha-39?"

"Unknown," said Lindsey with a shake of her head. "We're uncertain of their precise location, but we believe that they are somewhere in Delta-45. For a fleet of that size, I doubt they could arrive any sooner than six days."

"If we move out now, we can beat them there," said King. "Captain Jefferson, can you get _Harmony_ under way in less time?"

_"I'll have to speak with my chief engineer, but the estimate he gave me was a week."_

Lane considered his options for several minutes. "If we do this," he said finally, "we won't have any ships to defend Liberty itself should Rheinland decide to invade."

"Actually, we can keep the _Westfalen_ in Liberty," King said, "and I doubt Rheinland will attack anyway. They're focused solely on Bretonia."

"All right, then," Lane said after a few moments, "let's carry this out. Admiral, take command of _Wisconsin_ and head up the task force to Holman. Director, take command of the task force in Alpha-39. Chief Zane, you'll be the commander of our forces in Cambridge. Let's do this, people." The three department heads stood and hurried from the room as the Joint Chiefs blinked out of existence. "Mr. Trent, what're you going to be doing?"

"I'll be with King in Alpha-39," he replied.

Lane nodded. "Good luck, then."

* * *

_A/N: Merry Christmas everyone. This is my favorite chapter that I've written so far, and it's one of my longest, so I hope you'll enjoy this Christmas treat. This is, unfortunately, the last chapter that I have finished at the moment, but I'm back in the Freelancer "mood," so to speak. Thus, I should have the motivation to write more soon. Again, I won't give any guarantee on when the next update will be, but it _will_ happen._


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